Castle Map

Palace

Bishopthorpe Palace

England · 18th century

Founded
1765
Heritage status
Grade I listed building
Location
Bishopthorpe
Coordinates
53.92315°, -1.09216°
Links
Wikimedia Commons
Open on the map →Wikipedia ↗
Bishopthorpe Palace in England
Photo: RRRR NNNN · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

Bishopthorpe Palace is the official residence of the Archbishop of York at Bishopthorpe, North Yorkshire, England. The palace is located on the River Ouse and is approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) south of York, which is the location of the diocese's cathedral, York Minster.

In 1226, Archbishop Walter de Gray bought the manor house at what was then St. Andrewthorpe and gave it to the Dean and Chapter of York Minster. Since then, the village became known as Bishopthorpe. In 1241 he built a Manor House and Chapel on the site. A red brick north wing was built in the fifteenth century and the Gatehouse was built in 1765. In 1863, a water tower was built to extract water from a well, rather than using river water for drinking. The tower was demolished in 1946 but some foundations are still visible in garden of Iona Lodge.

The palace is a Grade I listed building in a wooded, rural setting and includes a gatehouse, stables, a brewhouse and brewster's cottage. It was remodelled by Thomas Atkinson between 1763 and 1769.

John Sentamu, who was Archbishop from 2005 to 2020, did not initially move into the palace, as it was just beginning a major renovation and restoration at the time.

Text adapted from “Bishopthorpe Palace” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Bishopthorpe Palace ranks #3,961 of 9,902 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #290 of the 397 mapped in England. Founded 1765, it is older than 15% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 757 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,519 times in the last 60 days, more than 67% of the atlas. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Sheffield, 65 km away. See how England compares in the castle statistics.

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