The royal manor of Woodstock, part of the Forest of Wychwood, existed before the Norman Conquest. Under King Henry I it became emparked in order to conserve the game within its boundaries and it contained accommodation that probably amounted to a hunting lodge. It was situated within the parish of Bladon, the village at its SE border. Under Henry II, more palatial living quarters were built within the park and the king’s retinue lived in ‘Old’ Woodstock to the NE. The hunting lodge or Palace of Woodstock had its own private chapel, or possibly several by the C13th. Although the town church remained a chapel of ease until the C17th, it acquired a measure of independence under the town corporation, and had acquired its own burial ground by the C13th.