Lyddington Bede House is a historic house in

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, owned and opened to the public by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. The existing Grade I listed building is a part of a former palace of the

Bishops of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire an ...

, situated next to St Andrew's Church in the village of

Lyddington Lyddington is a village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the civil parish was 397 at the 2001 census, and had fallen to 366 at the 2011 census. The village's name origin is uncertain. Perhaps, 'farm/ ...

. The watch tower or

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. Etymology The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries is "Mid 18th c ...

is separately listed as Grade I and the boundary walls are Grade II. The site is a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

History

The medieval

Diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leic ...

was the largest bishopric in England, extending from 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 ...

to the

Humber Estuary The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...

. Lyddington lay on a north–south road and the estate here was a convenient place for the bishop's entourage to stop when traversing the diocese. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, ownership passed to the Cecil family who made it their private house. By 1600 it had passed to

Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, KG (5 May 1542 – 8 February 1623), known as Lord Burghley from 1598 to 1605, was an English politician, courtier and soldier. Family Thomas Cecil was the elder son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, b ...

, son of

Lord Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...

, who converted it into an

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

for twelve poor

bedesmen Bedesman, or beadsman (Med. Eng. ''bede'', prayer, from O. Eng. ''biddan'', to pray; literally "a man of prayer"; and from Anglo Saxon "bed"), was generally a pensioner or almsman whose duty was to pray for his benefactor. Function A Bedesman ( ...

and it continued in this use until 1930. A feature is the former bishops' Great Chamber with its beautifully carved ceiling

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

. The remains of the fishponds of the bishop's palace are nearby.

Nearby English Heritage attractions

* Rushton Triangular Lodge *

Kirby Hall Kirby Hall is an Elizabethan country house, located near Gretton, Northamptonshire, England. The nearest main town is Corby. One of the great Elizabethan houses of England, Kirby Hall was built for Sir Humphrey Stafford of Blatherwick, beginnin ...

* Eleanor Cross, Geddington

''See also'': other palaces and residences of the Bishop of Lincoln

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, and its e ...

Buckden Palace Buckden Towers, formerly known as Buckden Palace, is a medieval fortified house and bishop's palace in Buckden, Cambridgeshire, England. History The 15th-century buildings are the remains of the palace of the bishop of Lincoln. Although it is ...

Dorchester, Oxfordshire Dorchester on Thames (or Dorchester-on-Thames) is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about northwest of Wallingford and southeast of Oxford. The town is a few hundred yards from the confluence of the River Thames and River Thame. A c ...

Fingest Fingest is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills near the border with Oxfordshire. It is about six miles WSW of High Wycombe. It lies in the civil parish of Hambleden. The parish church of St Bartholomew's date ...

, Buckinghamshire. *

Horncastle, Lincolnshire Horncastle is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman walls remains. History Romans ...

. Bishops Palace *

Lincoln Medieval Bishop's Palace The Old Bishop's Palace is a historic visitor attraction in the city of Lincoln, Lincolnshire. When it was first built, in the late 12th century, it was at the centre of the vast Diocese of Lincoln, which stretched from the Humber to the Tha ...

*London, Camden, Inn of the Bishop of Lincoln, later Southampton House. Purchased from Templars by Bishop Robert de Chesney (1148–68) *?

Louth, Lincolnshire Louth () is a market town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): Louth serves as an important town for a large rural area of eastern Lincolnshire. Visitor a ...

Nettleham Nettleham is a large village and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, north-east from the city of Lincoln between the A46 and A158. The population of the civil parish was 3,437 at the 2011 census. Histo ...

, Lincolnshire *

Spaldwick Spaldwick is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Spaldwick lies approximately west of Huntingdon, near Catworth. Spaldwick is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as ...

, Huntingdoshire, Bury Close * Stow, Lincolnshire * Thame, Oxfordshire *

Wooburn Wooburn is a large village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located off the A4094 road between Wooburn Green and Bourne End in the very south of the county near the River Thames, about two miles south west of Beaconsfield and four miles east ...

, Buckinghamshire. Bishops Palace

Bibliography

*Country Life July 24, 1909, pp. 126–134. *Goodall J. (2017), ''Preserved to Perfection: Lyddington Palace, Rutland.'' Country Life, March 1, pp. 62–66. *Pevsner N & Wiliiamson, (1984), ''The Buildings of England: Leicestershire and Rutland'', Yale University Press pp 482–3 *The Victoria History of the County of Rutland: Volume I, (1908), 118-119 *The Victoria History of the County of Rutland: Volume II, (1935), 188-191 *Woodfield, C and P, (1993) ''Lyddington Bede House'' *Woodfield, C and P, (1982) ''The Palace of the Bishops of Lincoln at Lyddington'', Transactions of the Leics Archaeological and Historical Society', Vol. 57, 1-1

Lyddington Bishops Palace and Bedehouse Gallery

References

External links

Lyddington Bede House
- official site at English Heritage {{coord, 52.5639, -0.7093, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title English Heritage sites in Rutland Country houses in Rutland Grade I listed buildings in Rutland Historic house museums in Rutland Almshouses in Rutland