The Bishop's Palace and Gardens
The Bishop's Palace and Gardens in Wells, Somerset, is one of the most enchanting and historically significant medieval complexes in England. Serving as the official residence of the Bishops of Bath and Wells for over 800 years, it stands as a remarkably intact example of a medieval episcopal palace, surrounded by a moat fed by the natural springs that give the city of Wells its name. Few places in England offer such an immersive encounter with the medieval world in so intimate a setting — not a ruin or a museum piece, but a living, occupied building where bishops still reside today. It is widely regarded as the oldest continuously inhabited palace in the country, a distinction that lends it an extraordinary sense of living history.
The palace's origins date to the early thirteenth century, when Bishop Jocelin of Wells began construction around 1210. The great hall was added later in the century by Bishop Robert Burnell under Edward I, and subsequent bishops continued to expand and embellish the complex over the following centuries. The fortified walls and moat were added in the early fourteenth century by Bishop Ralph of Shrewsbury, who obtained a licence to crenellate from the king following tensions with the townspeople of Wells — a reminder that the relationship between ecclesiastical and civic power was not always harmonious. The ruins of the Great Hall, deliberately destroyed during the reign of Edward VI amid the turmoil of the English Reformation, stand today as a haunting reminder of that period of upheaval, their roofless walls open to the sky and softened now by decades of creeping vegetation.
Physically, the palace is a place of rare beauty and layered texture. The honey-coloured limestone of the buildings glows warmly in afternoon sunlight, and the medieval gatehouse with its drawbridge — said to be the last working drawbridge still in daily use in England — creates an arresting entrance. The moat itself is calm and mirror-like on still days, populated by swans that have become almost legendary in local lore. For generations, the swans at Wells have been trained to ring a bell by the gatehouse to request feeding from visitors, a tradition reputedly begun in the nineteenth century. Walking the grounds, one is aware of the sound of running water almost everywhere, since the natural springs beneath the palace bubble up through the moat and surrounding pools, giving the whole complex a gentle, timeless murmur.
The gardens are among the finest attached to any historic property in the south of England. Spreading across approximately fourteen acres, they combine formal elements with wild planting, ancient trees, herbaceous borders, a kitchen garden, and broad lawns that sweep toward the ruined walls of the Great Hall. The springs that rise within the grounds create a series of pools and rills, and the effect is one of extraordinary calm. The walled garden and the croquet lawn, the orchard and the ancient mulberry trees — all contribute to a sense of a place that has been tended with love over many centuries. In spring, the gardens are particularly celebrated, with swaths of bulbs and blossom complementing the stonework, while in summer the herbaceous plantings reach their fullest expression.
Wells itself is the smallest city in England (a status it holds by virtue of its cathedral rather than its population), and the Bishop's Palace sits at the heart of its medieval precinct. The Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew rises immediately to the north of the palace grounds, separated by a historic chain gate, and the two together form one of the most complete and unspoilt medieval ecclesiastical ensembles anywhere in Europe. The market place, with its independent shops and regular markets, lies just a short walk from the palace gatehouse. The wider landscape of the Somerset Levels spreads out to the north and west, while the limestone ridge of the Mendip Hills rises immediately above the city to the north, giving the whole setting a dramatic natural backdrop.
For visitors, the palace and gardens are open to the public for much of the year, typically from spring through to autumn, though the gardens alone may have different access periods. An admission charge applies, which goes toward the significant ongoing costs of maintaining the buildings and grounds. The palace interior — including the medieval great hall (in use), the chapel, and various state rooms — can be visited on guided tours, and special events including open-air theatre, exhibitions, and seasonal markets are held throughout the year. The site is managed by the Diocese of Bath and Wells, and the Bishop continues to live in part of the complex, meaning that some areas are closed to the public. Accessibility for mobility-impaired visitors has been improved in recent years, though the uneven historic surfaces of some areas may present challenges.
One of the more unusual and captivating aspects of a visit is the sense that the palace operates on its own time, subtly distinct from the rhythms of the modern world just beyond its gatehouse. The drawbridge is still raised each evening, the swans still patrol the moat, and services still take place in the chapel as they have for eight centuries. There is something quietly remarkable about standing beside the spring pools, hearing the water rise cold and clear from the limestone as it has done since long before the first stone of the palace was laid, and reflecting that this particular corner of Somerset has been continuously inhabited, prayed in, gardened, and cherished across an almost unbroken thread of human time.