Dogmersfield House

In the civil parish of Dogmersfield. In the historic county of Hampshire (Modern Authority of Hampshire, 1974 county of Hampshire).

House constructed in 1728 with alterations of 1740. It is thought to be constructed on the site of an earlier house a medieval palace of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. A dovecote within the grounds may be relate to an earlier house. Henry VI often stayed there, and it was where Catherine of Aragon met Henry VII and her future husband Prince Arthur. This suggests this was a large episcopal palace, capable of housing a royal retinue which could number hundreds. Within a deer park, dating back to the C12, and just to the west of the, now lost, village of Dogmersfield who's medieval parish church was probably demolished in the early C19. There are also early C13 records of fishponds of which Tundry Pond may be a much altered remnant. The lack of evidence of earlier buildings suggests the current house site directly on the site of the bishops palace, an attached office block built in the 1980's was built without archaeological investigation.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SU77125158

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 244215
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 18843 '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://www.hants.gov.uk/hampshiretreasures/entries/v03p041e01.html
• 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
    Ramsey, F.M.R. (ed), 1995, English Episcopal Acta X, Bath and Wells 1061-1205 (Oxford: University Press) p. xxiv no3
    Hembry, P., 1967, The Bishops of Bath and Wells, 1540-1640 (London: The Athlone Press) p68-9
    Page, Wm (ed), 1911, VCH, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Vol4 p72
    Britton, J. and Brayley, E.W., 1801, The Beauties of England and Wales (London) Vol6 p280
• Journal Articles
  • Meirion-Jones, G., 1969, 'Dogmersfield and Hastley Maudit: two deserted villages' Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society Vol26 p111-27
• 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) p108-111 [available via http://ethos.bl.uk ]