Chudleigh Bishops Palace

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Chudele

In the civil parish of Chudleigh. In the historic county of Devon (Modern Authority of Devon, 1974 county of Devon).

The Bishop's Palace at Chudleigh was one of nine rural houses in Devon used by the Bishops of Exeter at the end of the Middle Ages. Its origins are unclear but it was in use from the second half of C13 until 1550. A licence to crenellate the episcopal manor was granted to Bishop Thomas Brantingham in 1379. The visible remains are a ruined vaulted structure - probably the core of the palace, three freestanding walls and parts of an enclosure wall. Low earthworks indicate building platforms, plots or enclosures and agricultural activity. (PastScape)
The ruins of the Bishop's Palace at Chudleigh and its associated earthworks were surveyed in March 1999 by the RCHME Exeter Office. A large scale drawing and interpretation of the upstanding ruins were completed at the same time by Exeter Archaeology. (PastScape)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 85335)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SX86607887

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 446619
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
  • Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p549-51
    Higham, Robert A., 1999, 'Castles, Fortified Houses and Fortified Towns in the Middle Ages' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p136-43
    Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern) p87 [slight]
    Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p168, 177
    Pevsner, Nikolaus and Cherry, Bridget, 1989, Buildings of England: Devon (Harmondsworth) p263
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p121 [possible]
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p352, 418
    Jones, M., 1852, The History of Chudleigh (London) p6-14 http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofchudlei00jone#page/6/mode/1up
    Lysons, D. and S., 1822, Magna Britannia Vol6 Devon p. cccxlv-cccxlviii http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=406
• Journal Articles
  • Parker, R. et al, 2006, 'The Bishop's palace at Chudleigh' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol64 p193-240
    Higham, R.A., 1988, 'Devon Castles: an annotated list' Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society Vol46 p146
    Tapley-Soper, H., 1942-6, Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries Vol22 p78-80
• 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 (1377-81) p377
• 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 ]
    Fletcher, M., March 1999, Bishop's Palace, Chudleigh, Devon. An RCHME project report