Sonning Bishop's Palace, Berkshire, England

Around 1000 an extensive Bishop's palace was built on the ground that is now Holme Park and St Andrew's Church. A Saxon Nave and Chancel would have stood at the site.

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.

King John stayed at the bishop's palace for six days in 1216. During his stay he met some of the rebel barons at Loddon Bridge who paid £160 for the release of William D'Albini. D'Albini was one of the Baron guarnetors of the Magna Carta. He had been captured at the Siege of Rochester and was being held at Sonning by King John.

After the death of King Richard II in 1400, his wife Isabella of Valois was kept prisoner at the palace.

In 1574, the connection to the Salisbury bishops came to an end, with the manor being handed over to the crown. In the following year Queen Elizabeth visited her new estate in Sonning, but it was another 26 years before she returned. The estate was neglected and the palace was left to ruin.

Description

Site of the palace of the Bishops of Salisbury, revealed by excavations in 1912-14. The earliest remains found dated to C13, with alterations in C14 and C15. The main building was moated on three sides and bounded to the north by the Thames. No surface remains are now visible. (PastScape)

A plan of the Bishops residence at Sonning was drawn up by Keyser and Brakespear following excavations at the site between 1912 and 1914. The earliest works found in-situ date from the 13th century, when the house would appear to have consisted of a range running parallel to and on the south bank of the Thames with a first floor hall, chapel and solar and kitchen and offices beneath. The building was enlarged in the 14th century, and in 1337 Bishop Robert Wyvill obtained a license to crenellate. The house was defended by a moat on three sides and by the river on the north. A new hall with porch and oriel was added to the thirteenth century block either in the 15th century or in the 14th century and remodelled in the 15th century. The great gatehouse was rebuilt in Henry VII's reign with the walls surrounding the forecourt, and possibly the water gate on the north. Little is known of the house following the manor of Sonning and Eye being given to the crown in 1574, but ultimately it seems to have been allowed to fall into decay and a new house built to the south-ward with the old materials.

In January 1947, the School moved to the magnificent estate of Holme Park in the Berkshire village of Sonning-on-Thames where it remains today.