Bishopthorpe Palace is the official 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 the ...

at Bishopthorpe,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. The palace is located on the River Ouse and is approximately south of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, which is the location of the diocese's cathedral,

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

Background

In 1226, Archbishop

Walter de Gray Walter de Gray (died 1 May 1255) was an English prelate and Diplomat, statesman who was Archbishop of York from 1215 to 1255 and Lord Chancellor from 1205 to 1214. His uncle was John de Gray, who was a bishop and royal servant to King John of ...

bought the manor house at what was then St. Andrewthorpe and gave it to the Dean and Chapter of

. Since then, the village became known as Bishopthorpe. In 1241 he built a Manor House and Chapel on the site. A red brick north wing was built in the fifteenth century and the Gatehouse was built in 1765. In 1863, a water tower was built to extract water from a well, rather than using river water for drinking. The tower was demolished in 1946 but some foundations are still visible in garden of Iona Lodge. Bishopthorpe Palace Chapel - full length

Bishopthorpe Palace Chapel - full length

The palace is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in a wooded, rural setting and includes a gatehouse, stables, a brewhouse and brewster's cottage. It was remodelled by Thomas Atkinson between 1763 and 1769. John Sentamu, who was Archbishop from 2005 to 2020, did not initially move into the palace, as it was just beginning a major renovation and restoration at the time.

References

External links

Bishopthorpe Palace
The Archbishop of York {{coord, 53.9245, N, 1.0920, W, type:landmark, display=title Bishopthorpe Country houses in North Yorkshire Episcopal palaces of archbishops of York Grade I listed buildings in York Houses in York