The Archbishop's Palace was the residence of the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

during the later Middle Ages. It lay immediately north of

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

, and its grounds are now known as Dean's Park.

Construction

was severely damaged by a fire in 1137.

Roger de Pont L'Évêque Roger de Pont L'Évêque (or Robert of Bishop's Bridge; c. 1115–1181) was Archbishop of York from 1154 to 1181. Born in Normandy, he preceded Thomas Becket as Archdeacon of Canterbury, and together with Becket served Theobald of Bec while Th ...

, Archbishop of York from 1154 to 1181, rebuilt the minster, and appears to have also begun the construction of the palace. In 1179, the college and chapel of St Mary and All Angels, also known as St Sepulchre, was built next to the palace, and the history of the structure became intertwined. In 1268, the grounds of the palace were extended up to the city walls. The palace was used for a wide variety of purposes. The justices of

oyer and terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French ''oyer et terminer'', which literally means "to hear and to determine") was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the ...

sat there in 1275, while in 1327–1328,

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

based his court at the palace while he was leading a campaign against the Scots; the palace was altered at great expense to host him. By 1385, it also housed the archbishop's prison, probably in the crypt below St Sepulchre's Chapel. In 1400, a new chamber was added from which Henry IV of England could watch a tournament being held in the palace grounds. Richard III of England stayed at the palace in 1483, as did

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beauf ...

in 1487, and

Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and successfully fought to extend her regency. Ma ...

in 1503. St Sepulchre's College was dissolved in 1547, while in the 1560s, Thomas Young removed the lead from the palace's roof. This was supposedly to purchase Grays Court for his son, George, the building probably being extended in part with stone taken from the palace. By 1616, the palace was in ruins, and the grounds were sold to

Arthur Ingram Sir Arthur Ingram (ca. 1565 – 1642) was an English investor, landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1610 and 1642. The subject of an influential biography, he has been celebrated for his "financial ...

. He rebuilt part of the palace as his own house, and laid out gardens in the remainder of the grounds, which include a fishpond, tennis court and bowling green.

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...

stayed in the house in 1642, but after Ingram's death, his descendants divided the property into small tenements and let them out. York Minster Library - geograph

In 1734, a theatre was built on the site of the tennis court. In 1780, the former great hall of the palace was rebuilt as a riding school, noted in 1785 as the site of an early balloon ascent. In 1799, a panorama depicting the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

at the

Spithead review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

was displayed in the building. By this time, Ingram's house was largely in ruins. York Minster purchased the whole site in 1814, and demolished Ingram's house, using the site for its stone yard, and also demolished the riding school. The palace's former chapel was restored for use as the minster library, and is now known as the Old Palace. In 1823, the remainder of the site was again laid out as the Deanery Gardens. Demolition of some sheds revealed a 12th-century arcade from the original palace. More recently, the grounds have become known as Dean's Park, and the stone yard has moved to Deangate. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the park was excavated to house water tanks, but it has since been restored. In 1987, the arcade was rededicated as a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

to the dead of the world wars and 19th-century conflicts, and since 1997, it has been grade I listed.

References

{{coord, 53.962, -1.082, display=title Houses in North Yorkshire Episcopal palaces of archbishops of York Grade I listed buildings in York Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Demolished buildings and structures in England