Bishop's Palace, Lichfield

The Bishop’s Palace stands in the north-east corner of Lichfield’s Cathedral Close. The present building dates from 1687 and replaced a medieval palace built for Bishop Langton in the early 14th century. The earlier palace was ruined during the Civil War sieges of 1643–46, leaving only the stone vaults intact. Edward Pierce, a former mason for Christopher Wren, designed the new Queen Anne style house in grey ashlar stone. The palace served as the bishop’s residence from the late 1860s until 1953, when it passed to Lichfield Cathedral School. The palace is Grade I listed and retains fragments of its medieval past. The base of a column from the original hall stands in the garden, found in the early 20th century. A surviving medieval tower base can be seen in the rear garden, part of the old Close ditch. In 1868–69 Bishop Selwyn added two wings and a Gothic-style chapel with lancet windows. The school now uses the building for teaching, preserving its historic fabric and layout. Visitors find a symmetrical two-storey house with a low-pitched roof and dormers. Inside, the ground floor once held a central hall, parlour, drawing room and chapel. The bakehouse, brewhouse and pigsty stood in the north-west corner, while the rest was laid out as gardens and a cherry orchard. The remains of the Close ditch and the medieval tower base add to the sense of layered history. The Gothic chapel with its lancet windows contrasts with the Queen Anne front. The palace’s grey ashlar walls and classical pediment over the doorway remain clearly visible today.