Mansfield Royal Palace and Pleasley 'Bishops' Palace

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Plesele

In the civil parish of Mansfield. In the historic county of Nottinghamshire (Modern Authority of Nottinghamshire, 1974 county of Nottinghamshire).

Henry I had a hall or hunting lodge at Mansfield. It was superseded by a new hunting lodge built at Clipstone by Henry II. (The Beck family could quite well have been the occupiers of the vacated royal residence, and this could be the site of it). (PastScape ref. HKW)
Much disturbed ground at SK 509 646 may represent earthworks associated with the royal residence. (PastScape)
Thompson calls this a palace of the Bishops of St Davids "Perhaps a place of retreat during the Welsh Wars" The draft version of the VCH writes "Sometime before 1281 Robert de Willoughby sold the manor of Pleasley to Thomas Bek, a younger brother of John, Lord Bek of Eresby (Lincs.) (d. 1304),who was bishop of St David's from 1280 until his death in 1293. The justices in eyre were concerned at this alienation and it may have been as a consequence that Robert confirmed the feoffment to Thomas in 1288. The justices were also told that Bek had a warren at Pleasley. In December 1281 the king gave Thomas four bucks and eight does to stock his park at Pleasley and excused his removal of four other deer from Sherwood he previous autumn. In 1285 Thomas had a grant of a weekly market and three-day annual fair at Pleasley and free warren in his demesne lands, as well as licence to fortify and crenellate his house there, and permission to divert the road running past his tenement at Pleasley Hill. After Thomas Bek's death, Pleasley passed to his brother Anthony, bishop of Durham,who had half a knight's fee there in 1302. He died in 1311, when the manor of Pleasley was found to be held of Robert de Reresby by the service of 2d. yearly."
A private house of the Bek's, not an episcopal palace, but almost certainly dressed up with martial symbols, such as battlements.
Site on county boundary with Pleasley and most of the deer park in Derbyshire but the house in Nottinghamshire. (Which has confused entries about this site in earlier version of this database.)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK50966476

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 318226
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record. In particular '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, or elsewhere.

• Books
  • Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p167, 183
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p983
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p403
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1281-92) p150
• 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) Appendix B: List of Medieval Bishop's Palaces in England and Wales [available via http://ethos.bl.uk ]