Dogmersfield House

Has been described as a Certain Palace (Bishop/Royal)

There are no visible remains

NameDogmersfield House
Alternative Names
Historic CountryHampshire and the Isle of Wight
Modern AuthorityHampshire
1974 AuthorityHampshire
Civil ParishDogmersfield

House constructed in 1728 with alterations of 1740. It is thought to be constructed on the site of an earlier house a medieval palace of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. A dovecote within the grounds may be relate to an earlier house. (PastScape)

Jocelin, Bishop of Bath and Wells (1206–44), obtained a confirmation of his right to the manor from King John in 1207, and the successive Bishops of Bath and Wells retained possession until the reign of Henry VIII, when the manor was sold to the king. Henry appointed Sir John Wallop keeper of the manor and park in 1540–1, and the following year leased the demesne land to Oliver Wallop, brother of Sir John, for twenty-one years. The manor was granted to Thomas, Lord Wriothesley, first Earl of Southampton, in 1547, by Edward VI.

Dogmersfield Park was made in the reign of Henry II, when licence was given to Reginald Fitz Jocelin, Bishop of Bath and Wells, to impark his wood, and in 1228 leave was obtained by his successor Jocelin (1206–44) to increase it by 7 acres of pasture, deer leaps being granted to him in 1227 and 1229.

The park was further enlarged by 3½ acres which were inclosed 'with a dike and a hedge' by Bishop Jocelin, and in 1276 the stock of Bishop Robert (1275–93) was increased by a royal gift of '20 live does and brockets ' taken from the royal park of Odiham. There have been no deer in the park for many years. In the 16th century the keeper of the park received a salary of £12 a year. The park contains two pieces of water at the present day, Tundry Pond and Dogmersfield Lake; of these one may possibly represent the fishpond granted to Bishop Jocelin in 1205 before the inclosure of the park. (VCH)

Gatehouse Comments

Henry VI often stayed there, and it was where Catherine of Aragon met Henry VII and her future husband Prince Arthur. This suggests this was a large episcopal palace, capable of housing a royal retinue which could number hundreds. Within a deer park, dating back to the C12, and just to the west of the, now lost, village of Dogmersfield who's medieval parish church was probably demolished in the early C19. There are also early C13 records of fishponds of which Tundry Pond may be a much altered remnant. The lack of evidence of earlier buildings suggests the current house site directly on the site of the bishops palace, an attached office block built in the 1980's was built without archaeological investigation. Now a luxury hotel providing recreational activities such as horse riding and shooting which show a continuity of use with the medieval house and park.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSU771515
Latitude51.2583389282227
Longitude-0.896059989929199
Eastings477120
Northings151580
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

No photos available. If you can provide pictures please contact Castlefacts

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.

Calculate Print

Books

  • Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 3 Southern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 673
  • Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 170
  • Ramsey, F.M.R. (ed), 1995, English Episcopal Acta X, Bath and Wells 1061-1205 (Oxford: University Press) p. xxiv No. 3
  • Hembry, P., 1967, The Bishops of Bath and Wells, 1540-1640 (London: The Athlone Press) p. 68-9
  • Page, Wm (ed), 1911, VCH Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Vol. 4 p. 72 online transcription
  • Britton, J. and Brayley, E.W., 1801, The Beauties of England and Wales (London) Vol. 6 p. 280

Journals

  • Meirion-Jones, G., 1969, 'Dogmersfield and Hastley Maudit: two deserted villages' Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society Vol. 26 p. 111-27

Other

  • Payne, Naomi, 2003, The medieval residences of the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Salisbury (PhD Thesis University of Bristol) p. 108-111 (available via EThOS)