Wolvesey Castle, in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England, was the main residence of the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

in the Middle Ages. The castle, mostly built by

Henry of Blois Henry of Blois ( c. 1096 8 August 1171), often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death. He was the son of Stephen II, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy, a yo ...

in the 12th century, is now a ruin, except for its fifteenth-century chapel, which is now part of the bishop's current residence, Wolvesey Palace. Wolvesey Castle was primarily a palace, although Blois had it fortified because of

the Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...

Early history

The site is an

eyot An ait (, like ''eight'') or eyot () is a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England. Aits are typically formed by the deposit of sediment in the water, which accumu ...

in the River Itchen known as ''Wulveseye'' or Wulf's island. There were buildings there during the Roman period. The building before Wolvesey Castle was constructed around 970 by

Æthelwold of Winchester Æthelwold of Winchester (also Aethelwold and Ethelwold, 904/9 – 984) was Bishop of Winchester from 963 to 984 and one of the leaders of the tenth-century monastic reform movement in Anglo-Saxon England. Monastic life had declined to a l ...

, the

from 963 to 984, as his official residence or palace.

William Giffard

About 1110, the second Norman bishop, William Giffard, constructed a new hall to the south west.

Henry of Blois

Giffard's successor,

, brother of King Stephen added a second hall to the west between 1135 and 1138. Winchester came under siege during the

Rout of Winchester In the Rout of Winchester (14 September 1141) the army of imprisoned King Stephen of England, led by his wife, Queen Matilda of Boulogne, Stephen's brother Bishop Henry of Blois, and William of Ypres, faced the army of Stephen's cousin Empres ...

in 1141 by the

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

during the period of civil war known as

The Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...

, and held out for three weeks until relieved by Stephen's wife, Matilda. Subsequently Henry, the brother of

Stephen, King of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 ...

, enlarged and fortified the palace by building a curtain wall, giving the palace the appearance of a castle.

Later history

In June 1216, Oliver fitz Regis defended the buildings when they were besieged by Prince Louis of France during the

First Barons' War The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as English feudal barony, barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against John of England, K ...

. Catherine Hanley, ''Louis: The French Prince Who Invaded England'' (Yale University Press, 2016), p. 103. The palace was the location of the

wedding breakfast A wedding breakfast is a feast given to the newlyweds and guests after the wedding, making it equivalent to a wedding reception that serves a meal. The phrase is still used in British English. Nowadays the wedding breakfast is not normally a ...

in 1554 of Queen Mary and

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

. It was destroyed by the

Roundheads Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

in 1646. The ruins are located next to the existing bishop's palace, and are currently owned and maintained 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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

Today

The extensive surviving ruins are currently owned and maintained by

. The ruins have had

Grade I listed 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 ...

status since 24 March 1950. A fair amount of the curtain wall remains, but nearly all the inner arrangements are gone, though it is possible to make out the hall, in which there is a good round arch and one surviving Norman window.Charles W.C. Oman, ''Castles: An illustrated guide to 80 castles of England and Wales'', Beekman House, 1978 Printing, The castle is near the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

, parts of which still exist today. File:Wolvesey Castle, Winchester 2014 20.jpg, Archways File:Wolvesey Castle, Winchester 2014 17.jpg, Woodman's Gate File:Winchester, Ruins of Wolvesey Castle Winchester 1095511 20230816 0641.jpg, View of the south end of the East Hall File:1095511-Wolvesey Castle (3).JPG, East Hall facade visible through an archway File:Wolvesey Castle From St.Giles's Hill - geograph.org.uk - 1736292.jpg, View of Wolvesey Castle from St Giles' Hill

Baroque palace

A new palace in the baroque style was built to the south by Thomas Finch for George Morley in 1684. However, Brownlow North demolished all but the west wing of this palace in 1786. After a variety of different uses, the remaining part was refurbished for use once again as the bishop's residence in 1926 by Theodore Woods. The chapel is the only considerable remnant of the south range of the medieval buildings, and is still in use, being attached to the palace.

References

{{Reflist Castles in Hampshire English Heritage sites in Hampshire Episcopal palaces of the bishops of Winchester History of Winchester Tourist attractions in Hampshire Grade I listed buildings in Hampshire Ruins in Hampshire Ruined castles in England