Wookey Court Farm

In the civil parish of Wookey. In the historic county of Somerset (Modern Authority of Somerset, 1974 county of Somerset).

Medieval palace of the Bishop of Bath and Wells at Wookey, on low lying land in a loop of the River Axe. The site was one of the first palaces of the Bishops and is first documented in 1224 when Bishop Jocelin was licensed to use oak trees from Cheddar forest for its repair. In a 1330s history of Wells it was written that the chapels and chambers of Wookey and Wells were built 'magnificently' by Jocelin. The main grounds were encircled by a moat, enclosing a large polygonal area of over five acres, with the palace in the northern part where Court Farm now stands. The farmhouse is the only upstanding building of the period. An area of earthworks to the east of the house indicates the site of former buildings, and although the moat has been largely infilled its course can still be traced in places as an earthwork. Major repairs to the palace were recorded in 1461-2, including the re-roofing of the hall with lead. A survey of 1557 recorded new buildings and rooms, and the present farmhouse has been identified as part of the new build. The moat is believed to date from after this date as it is not mentioned in the survey, although it is depicted on the 1839 Tithe Map. The grounds were entered from the south east where a gatehouse stood. On one side were an ox house, hay house, stable and pigsty while on the other were a cow house and walled barton of two acres. Lynchets and banks suggest sub-division of this aprt of the grounds. Within the grounds were a garden behind the house, a barn, two bartons, an orchard, fishponds and a dovecote.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 268186)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is ST51794562

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 197095
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 23005 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Web site links
  • http://webapp1.somerset.gov.uk/her/details.asp?prn=23005
• Books
  • Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p673
    Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p170
    Dunning, Robert, 1995, Somerset Castles (Somerset Books) p69-70
    Hembry, P., 1967, The Bishops of Bath and Wells, 1540-1640 (London: The Athlone Press) p113-4
    Pevsner, N., 1958, The Buildings of England: North Somerset and Bristol (London, Penguin) p344
    Winstone, J. and R., The Rescue of Court Farm, Wookey p12-14
    Bothamley, 1911, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Somerset Vol2 p521
    Holmes, T.S., 1880, The History of the Parish and Manor of Wookey (Bristol: C. T. Jefferies) p47-9
    Collinson, J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Somersetshire Vol3 p421
• Journal Articles
  • 2001, Medieval Archaeology Vol45 p318 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Winstone, J., 1998, 'The Bishop's Palace, Wookey' Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society Vol141 p91-101
    Haslar, J., 1995, 'Wookey Manor and Parish 1554-1841' Somerset Record Society Vol83 p, vii, 1-4
    Hasler, J. and Luker, B., 1993, 'The Site of the Bishop's Palace, Wookey' Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society Vol137 p111-118
    1971, CBA Group 12 and 13 Archaeological Review Vol6 p42
    Wood, Margaret, 1950, 'Thirteenth-century Domestic Architecture in England' The Archaeological Journal Vol105 supplement
    1936, Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society Vol82 p23
    1909, Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society Vol55 p12-3
    1888, Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society Vol34 p113
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Payne, Naomi, 2003, The medieval residences of the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Salisbury (PhD Thesis University of Bristol) p139-150 [available via http://ethos.bl.uk ]
    Leach, P., 2000, Court Farm Wookey: Trial Excavations on the North-East Arm of the Moat, An Interim Report (Unpublished report)
    Bray, E., May 1998, Court Farm, Wookey: Report on Geophysical Survey
    Gater, J., 1995, Report on geophysical survey: Court Farm, Wookey, Somerset. Unpublished Geophysical Surveys of Bradford report 95/112 in Somerset HER files