Stepney Manor of the Bishop of London
Has been described as a Certain Palace (Bishop)
There are no visible remains
| Name | Stepney Manor of the Bishop of London |
| Alternative Names | Bishopswood; Bishopshall; Bishops Hall; Bonners Hall; Bethnal Green |
| Historic Country | London and Middlesex |
| Modern Authority | London Borough of Tower Hamlets |
| 1974 Authority | Greater London |
| Civil Parish | Stepney |
The manor house of Stepney and Hackney was one of the principle residences of the bishops of London. Bishop William dated a grant at Stepney in 1207, and Bishop Roger Niger died there in 1241. The manor house included a chapel by 1243. An ambulatory between the lord's chamber and the clerks', the thatched stair to the solar, the chapel roof, and the gardener's house were repaired in 1336. The site also included separate thatched granges for barley, wheat, and rye. Repairs in 1363 involved large supplies of lime, sand, and gravel from within the manor; tiling was done on the kitchen, the bakery, the bishop's chamber, a chamber outside the 'Breshour'(?) and one beyond the gate, and the long stable, and daubing and plastering were done to the hay grange. A dovecot, great garden, and kitchen garden existed in 1383, when 3,000 reeds were bundled for thatching manorial buildings, the furnace or oven was mended, and a new window made for the steward's chamber. In 1402 shinglers with scaffolding worked on the main hall, using shingles from the manor of Haringey; glass was bought for the chapel windows, and other work was done to the laundry, buttery, great door, and carriage house, besides daubing the walls of the lord's chambers. The kitchen had a well. In 1416 the great stable roof was mended and the windows of the great chamber were given new glass. (VCH)
About a quarter of a mile to the east of Bethnal-Green, is the site of an ancient house, called Bishop's-hall, (now converted into two or three tenements,) said by tradition to have been the residence of Bishop Bonner. That it was his property I have no doubt; and there is good reason for supposing that it has been the manor-house of Stepney; for Norden calls "Bushoppe's-hall" the seat of the Lord Wentworth
Bishop Braybroke dates many of his episcopal acts from Stepney; but I have not seen one dated thence by any of his successors; which leads to a supposition that they did not reside there, but leased the house with the manerial estate. In 1594, Bishop'shall was the residence of Sir Hugh Platt, as mentioned before. (Lysons)
Not scheduled
Not Listed
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | TQ354832 |
| Latitude | 51.5314788818359 |
| Longitude | -0.0493599995970726 |
| Eastings | 535400 |
| Northings | 183200 |
