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Lostwithiel Duchy Palace

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Restormil; Raistormel; Convocation Hall; Stannary Palace

In the civil parish of Lostwithiel.
In the historic county of Cornwall.
Modern Authority of Cornwall.
1974 county of Cornwall.
Medieval County of Cornwall.

OS Map Grid Reference: SX104596
Latitude 50.40660° Longitude -4.66834°

Lostwithiel Duchy Palace has been described as a certain Palace.

There are major building remains.

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Edmund, Earl of Cornwall built a great range of buildings, c 1290, "to accommodate the county court and stannary offices. There was a county hall, a 'coinage' hall ... a prison ... and an exchequer." The buildings were kept in good repair until the 17th c when they were apparently allowed to fall into decay. "Buck's view of 1734 shows them in ruins, and when the Duchy offices were removed from the town in 1874, they were sold and further mutilated. The remains of the coinage hall were converted into a Freemasons' Lodge in 1878, and are still used for this purpose." The remains of walls and archways built into adjacent houses show in some measure the great extent of the whole". (HKW, Henderson) The extent of the Duchy Palace is accurately delineated on the OS 25" 1905 and since then, except for some demolition in the extreme SW corner, there have been few alterations to the property. It has been adapted to use as dwellings and warehouses, and the coinage hall is still the Masonic Lodge. The premises are all of two storey height, constructed of coursed killas with numerous granite doorways, window frames etc. Evidently most of the walling is medieval to C17, if not of C13. Glossed over by Pevsner with the apt remark that "the remains of the Stannary Court .. have not been sufficiently investigated." (Field Investigators Comments F1 NVQ 18-SEP-70). (PastScape)
Comments

Although called the Duchy Palace this was the administrative centre of the Duchy. The Dukes residence in the area was Restormel Castle. Restormel was an almost pure pleasure palace for hunting, with some slight agricultural role whereas the Duchy Palace had the court house and jail and was where taxes were collected and also probably had the military function of munitions store and base for what few soldiers there were in the area. The surviving building is a small part of the complex that was said to be modelled on Westminster Palace. The complexities of Cornish government, particularly the Stannaries, were and still are complex and the site reflects both that complexity and the importance of the Duchy.
Links to archaeological and architectural databases, mapping and other online resources

Data >
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Sources of information, references and further reading
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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.
Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.
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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.
This record last updated 15/08/2017 15:56:53

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