Congresbury Bishop's Court

In the civil parish of Congresbury. In the historic county of Somerset (Modern Authority of North Somerset, 1974 county of Avon).

There is some slight late C14 documentary evidence of bishop's residence at Congresbury when 'the Dean and Chapter consented to the demolition of "any houses or buildings within the bishop's manor of Congresbury, except the barn there, as unnecessary and superfluous, considering that the bishop has several neighbouring manors fully sufficient for his residence even if they were fewer." (Payne).
It is conceivable that the Dean and Chapter of Wells had acquired the barn in the late fourteenth century from the bishop of Bath and Wells. They had recently appropriated Congresbury church and perhaps had more use for the barn than the bishop, now that his manor house was being demolished. If the barn had once been in episcopal ownership, it would suggest that the bishops' manor house was to the south of the church, with the barn situated within grounds extending to the east. (Payne)
There is no evidence of the medieval bishops staying here and the need to preserve the barn suggests the manor was a revenue source only in the C14. This was the site of a Saxon Minster, so the bishop's manor may have been a relic of a Saxon residence, although occupation in the immediate post-Conquest period, when documentation is scarce, can not be excluded.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is ST435636

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

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.

• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • HMC1: 303
    HMC1: 241
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc.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) p152-3 [available via http://ethos.bl.uk ]