Winchester Palace, Medieval palace ruins in Southwark, England
Winchester Palace is a medieval residence in Southwark in London, England, now preserved as stone walls with a large rose window from the original hall. The three surviving entrance doors indicate the scale of the building that once occupied the entire stretch between the Thames and present-day Clink Street.
Henry of Blois established the residence in the 12th century as a London administrative center for the Bishops of Winchester who traveled regularly to the city for church and royal business. A fire in the 17th century damaged much of the structure, which then served as warehouses until further fires in the 18th century left only the present stone walls standing.
The riverside residence served as the London base for the Bishops of Winchester when they advised the royal court or attended to church affairs across the capital. Its position on the south bank allowed the bishops to receive visitors while maintaining control over approaches to the city from that direction.
The site sits on Clink Street, a short walk from London Bridge Station served by the Northern and Jubilee lines. Access is open and the walls can be viewed from the street at any time, as they stand directly along the road.
The rose window still displays its original 13th-century Gothic stonework despite the building burning down multiple times. The walls stood hidden behind warehouses for centuries and only became visible again when those structures were demolished in the 20th century.
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