Sonning Bishop's Palace was a former episcopal palace at

Sonning Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geogr ...

, east of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, England.Sonning Bishop's PalaceBerkshire History
United Kingdom. The palace was in

Holme Park Holme Park is a sports ground in Sonning (occasionally called Sonning-on-Thames), a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, a few miles east of Reading. It is used for rugby union matches and is the home of Reading Rugby F ...

near the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. It was a residence of the

Bishops of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat i ...

. In 1135, while staying at the palace, Bishop

Roger of Salisbury Roger of Salisbury (died 1139), was a Norman medieval bishop of Salisbury and the seventh Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of England. Life Roger was originally priest of a small chapel near Caen in Normandy. He was called "Roger, priest of the ch ...

attended the funeral of King

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...

Reading Abbey Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, m ...

. In September 1216, King John stayed for six days at the palace. In 1337, defences were added by Bishop Robert Wyville of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. After the abdication of King

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

and his cousin King Henry IV's coronation in October 1399, Richard II's then 9-year-old wife,

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

, was kept under house arrest at the palace. The Bishops of Salisbury continued in residence, some more often than others, until they sold it to

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. 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 Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geogr ...

References

External links

Sonning Bishop's Palace
Episcopal palaces in England Former palaces in England Country houses in Berkshire History of Berkshire Bishop's Palace Former structures on the River Thames {{Berkshire-geo-stub