Wolvesey Castle (or Old Bishop’s Palace) was an important residence of the bishops of Winchester from the late 10thc. until the 17thc., when it was superseded by a new palace in the outer ward to the S. It occupies the SE corner of the walled city, a short distance from Winchester Cathedral. The ruins are cared for by English Heritage.

The buildings are arranged around a trapezoidal inner courtyard. Visitors approach from the S but the main medieval gateway lay to the N. Little stands of the so-called West Hall, built c.1110 by Bishop William Giffard, with a tower and chapel to its S. Most of the standing structures can be ascribed to Bishop Henry of Blois, who succeeded Bishop Giffard in 1129. Most notably, Henry erected the first-floor East Hall. The lower level of its N (or dais) wall features a substantial blind arcade. Above this, elements of two ornamented windows have survived. A tall gable (possibly with ocuil, as reconstructed by English Heritage) would have completed this elevation. Two plain Romanesque windows with edge rolls survive in the S wall of the hall.

Other structures on the site have been attributed to Henry of Blois, including the kitchen (or keep) to the E, the chapel to the S, the Woodman’s gate to the N, and Wymond’s tower to the SE. Sculptural fragments recovered from the chapel are now in Winchester City Museum.

Wolvesey Castle was the site of an episcopal residence from the late 10thc. Its first occupant was probably Bishop Aethelwold (963-984), but the site was largely rebuilt by Bishop Giffard (1107-1129) and Bishop Henry of Blois (1129-1171) in the course of the 12thc. It was lightly fortified during the Civil War between Stephen and Mathilda.

The castle fell into decline in the late 16thc. It survived the Civil War and the buildings were maintained into the 1670s. In 1684, however, Bishop George Morley commissioned the architect Sir Thomas Fitch to design a new bishop’s palace in the S ward, or outer court, incorporating the 15thc. chapel as a N wing. Of that residence, only the W range and chapel survive. They lie outside the guardianship site.

After the construction of the new palace, the castle fell into disrepair. The ruins were consolidated in the 1920s by W. D. Caröe, using red tiles to complete several architectural features. The site was evcavated under the supervision of Martin Biddle in 1961-1971.

English Heritage dates the East Hall to c.1135-38. The upper level, including the wall passage, is thought to have been a later addition by Henry of Blois, with the blind arcade added at the same time to fortify the wall. Biddle dated this phase before Henry’s exile in 1154.