Melbourne Bishops Palace (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Melbourne.
In the historic county of Derbyshire.
Modern Authority of Derbyshire.
1974 county of Derbyshire.
Medieval County of Derbyshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SK38852498
Latitude 52.82093° Longitude -1.42505°

Melbourne Bishops Palace has been described as a probable Palace.

There are no visible remains.

This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*.

Description

Bishops palace used by the bishops of Carlisle, constructed during C13 and demolished in 1821. The palace of the bishops of Carlisle stood within a short distance of Melbourne church on the north bank of the pool (Briggs). (PastScape)

Melbourne Hall is thought to have been the site of a bishop's palace that was possibly built in the 13th century and used by the Bishops of Carlisle as a refuge from the border troubles. It was leased out from the early 16th century, if not before. The building was in poor condition by the 1590s, at which time it is said to have been rebuilt by Sir Frances Needham. However, there is no evidence that it was entirely rebuilt, as the existence of a very irregular floorplan made in c.1710 indicates that this rebuilding was only partial. Sir Bishop of Carlisle carried out a substantial phase of rebuilding between 1629-31, as part of which he obtained permission from the Earl of Huntingdon, lord of the manor, to quarry stone from the foundations of Melbourne Castle. (Derbyshire HER ref. Stroud)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1204079
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 922966.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 23279; 23248.

Books
- Craven, Maxwell and Stanley, Michael, 2001, The Derbyshire Country House (Landmark Publishing) Vol. 1 p. 150
  Cooper, Nicholas, 1999, Houses of the Gentry, 1480-1680 (Yale University Press) p. 217, 254-5
  Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 172
  Niemeyer, N., 1911, 'Introductory Chapter' in Rait, R.S. (ed), English Episcopal Palaces (Province of York) (London; Constable & Co) p. 17 online copy
  Briggs, J.J., 1852, History of Melbourne p. 59-62 online copy
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Dave Barrett, Gill Stroud, 2009, Extensive Urban Survey - Derbyshire (English Heritage) Download copy
  Payne, Naomi, 2003, The medieval residences of the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Salisbury (PhD Thesis University of Bristol) Appendix B: List of Medieval Bishop's Palaces in England and Wales (available via EThOS)
  Stroud, G., 2002, Extensive Urban Survey: Melbourne. Archaeological Assessment Report p. 17

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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.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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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.

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