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Biggleswade Bishops Manor

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
New Inn

In the civil parish of Biggleswade.
In the historic county of Bedfordshire.
Modern Authority of Bedfordshire.
1974 county of Bedfordshire.
Medieval County of Bedfordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: TL187446
Latitude 52.08640° Longitude -0.26668°

Biggleswade Bishops Manor has been described as a probable Palace.

There are no visible remains.

Description

Henry I had granted the manor of Biggleswade to Bishop Alexander in 1132, and later in this century the Bishops of Lincoln acquired further property, a manse with buildings and land in about 1250 and a messuage with buildings and meadowland called 'Le parc' in 1262. King John had granted the bishops a market at Biggleswade. (A 'Lincolnshire Archivist' quoted in www.biggleswadehistory.org.uk/bishopspalace.htm)

It has been conjectured that the Bishops of Lincoln had a palace in the vicinity of the church. This is largely based on the existence of the fieldname “palace ground” on the 1838 Tithe Map (BLARS MAT 5/1). Although there are several references to the Bishops of Lincoln visiting Biggleswade there is no record of a palace. Hill suggests that Palace Street, located some distance to the south-east is a corruption of the Old English plaish, meaning marshy place (Hill 1992). This could also explain the palace ground field-name adjacent to the river. (Extensive Urban Survey)

Comments

A reputed site of the manor house was New Inn, Palace Street at TL191444 but the Bedfordshire HER records a site at TL187446 shown on the 1838 Tithe Map, which is closer to the church and perhaps more likely as the original site of the bishops residence, if one existed, although a move to the New Inn site in the mid C13 is not impossible.
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This record last updated 26/07/2017 09:21:01

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