Sonning Bishop's Palace was a former episcopal palace at
Sonning, east of
Reading, in
Berkshire,
England.
The palace was in
Holme Park near the
River Thames. It was a residence of the
Bishops of Salisbury.
In 1135, while staying at the palace, Bishop
Roger of Salisbury attended the funeral of King
Henry I at
Reading Abbey. In September 1316,
King John stayed for six days at the palace. In 1337, defences were added by Bishop Robert Wyville of
Salisbury. After the death of King
Richard II in 1400, his wife
Isabella of Valois was kept prisoner at the palace.
The Bishops of Salisbury continued in residence, some more often than others, until they sold it to
Queen Elizabeth I. She visited the palace twice, but later it fell into disrepair.
The site of the palace was excavated in 1912–14 and evidence of a hall, chapel and other rooms was found.Keyser, C.E. (1916). Notes on excavations carried out on the site of the palace of the Bishop of Salisbury at Sonning,
The Berks, Bucks and Oxon Archaeological Journal,
22:2–21. The remains dated from the 13th century with alterations in the 14th and 15th centuries. The buildings were surrounded by a moat on three sides.
Today nothing can be seen of the palace from the surface apart from some unevenness in the ground. It is in a grass field used for cows between
St Andrew's Church and
Sonning Lock.
References
External......
Read More