The Bishop's Palace, also known as Gresham's Castle, is an ornate

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

-style house, located on Broadway and 14th Street in the East End Historic District of

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

. The building was designed by Nicholas J. Clayton for Walter Gresham and completed in 1892. The Archidiocese of Galveston purchased the property in 1923 and used it as its headquarters for four decades, after which they opened it up for tours. In 2013, the Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) acquired the property. , GHF continues to maintain the property and keep it open for public tours.

History

Gresham's Castle

The house was built between 1887 and 1892 by Galveston architect Nicholas J. Clayton for lawyer and politician Walter Gresham, his wife Josephine, and their nine children. Construction costs in 1892 are estimated at $250,000, while Clayton condensed many elaborate and eclectic design features onto a small homestead. Since Galveston experienced little population growth in the twentieth century, the high Victorian design of Bishop's Palace and other Clayton works from the 1890s characterize the town's architectural landscape. Clayton alternated medieval and Renaissance details onto the four towers, each rising four stories. In addition to these four towers, several chimneys combine to create an illusion of a cluster of houses or a village. Clayton constructed other exterior features from a variety of Texas stones, including

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

and

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, all custom-cut on site.Barnstone (1993), p. 150. The Gresham mansion was made all of stone, and was sturdy enough to withstand the great hurricane of 1900. The Greshams welcomed hundreds of survivors of the hurricane into their home.

Bishop's Palace

In 1923 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galveston purchased the house, and, situated across the street from the Sacred Heart Church, it served as the residence for Bishop Christopher E. Byrne. After the diocesan offices were moved to Houston, the diocese opened the mansion to the public in 1963, with proceeds from tours being used to help fund the UT medical school's Newman Center, which operated in the basement. Bishop's Palace attained

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the U.S. state of Texas. RTHL is a legal designation and the highest honor the st ...

status in 1967. It was listed with the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and was added to the Galveston East End Historic District in 1975.

Galveston Historical Foundation

The Galveston Historical Foundation acquired Bishop's Palace from the archdiocese in 2013 for $3 million. Most of the purchase price was funded by two large grants, one from the Moody Foundation for $1.5 million and the other from the Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund for $350,000. The Foundation began a multi-million dollar renovation of Bishop's Palace in 2020, with the first phase including restoration of copper roof sections and a renovation of the conservatory. The next phase of restoration took place in 2025, with the building's failing 1920s tile roof replaced by an exact replica manufactured by Ludowici. In addition to new tiles Ludowici produced ornamental figurines to cap the rooftop, replacing originals lost since 1983.

Layout

Bishop's Palace has four floors. The raised basement which once housed the kitchen and servant's areas now contains the store. This basement is followed by three formal floors.

First floor

Entryway
Leading to the entryway are stairs cut from blue granite, framed by granite balustrades, and leading to an archway. The large doors are made of oak.Barnstone (1993), p. 150.
Main Hall
The entrance to the main hall is framed by marble pillars and two marble sculptures. Four polished marble pillars support the ceiling made of oak veneer. The main hall leads to four rooms. To the left, through carved double doors are two parlors. To the left, through another set of carved double doors, are the dining room and library.

Parlor
Music Room
Rotunda Staircase
Library/Office
The library is paneled in

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

and contains a marble fireplace and mantel.

Dining Room
The Dining Room was surrounded by service rooms, with access from the kitchen, servant's hall, and butler's pantry.Barnstone (1993), p. 151.

Conservatory
Pantry
Kitchen - This room was originally just a warming kitchen, but Bishop Byrne expanded the room.
Servant's Hall
The servant's hall was located at the rear of the house, behind the kitchen. It has access to a service stairway, and an elevator, which replaced the

dumbwaiter A dumbwaiter is a small freight elevator or lift intended to carry food. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial, public and private buildings, are often connected between multiple floors. When installed in restauran ...

originally installed in the house.

Coat Closet - The coat closet is tucked around the back side of the rotunda staircase and contains a Pullman sink from the famed Pullman railcars.

Second floor

* Living Room - The Gresham family often listened to music here during the hot summer months. * Bishop's Bedroom - This was originally a bedroom of one of the Gresham daughters, but Bishop Byrne chose it for his own with its private balcony and lighting. He converted the closet into a bathroom. * Chapel - This was also previously one of the Gresham daughter's bedrooms. When the Diocese moved in, the windows were replaced with stained-glass, and a fresco depicting the four gospel writers was painted on the ceiling. The room was also outfitted with an altar and six prayer kneelers. * Mr. Gresham's Room * Mrs. Gresham's Room * Bathroom - The tub in this bathroom is of note for its three spigots: one for hot, one cold, and one for rainwater. * Bedroom for guests or the children's governess.

Third floor

* The boys' rooms * Mrs. Gresham's art studio * Additional storage

References

Bibliography

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External links

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Early 20th century photographic postcards of Texas buildings at the University of Houston Digital Library

Bishop's Palace Galveston's Grandest Home
\\ I on Oklahoma Magazine {{Galveston, Texas Culture of Galveston, Texas Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Galveston County, Texas Episcopal palaces of the Catholic Church Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston Museums in Galveston, Texas Historic house museums in Texas Palaces in the United States Houses in Galveston, Texas Houses completed in 1893 Religious buildings and structures completed in 1893 Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks 1893 establishments in Texas National Historic Landmark District contributing properties Clergy houses in the United States