More information : "It is probable that, as early as the 13th C, the
Bishop and his lessees inhabited a building of considerable
extent on the western bank of the river called in ancient deeds
the Old Court; of which scattered vestiges remained in the
memory of some of the present inhabitants". "A special court was
held in the house called the Old Court June 2nd 1578". (1)(1a)(1b)
A Medieval wall trench (see plan) running from east to west
(SU 1781 2126) was revealed in 1957, when Rahtz dug a trial hole
in a field known locally as Old Court (and also King John's
Palace and the Bishop's Palace) (see plan - SU 1788 2131 (2)(3)
Large blocks of greensand stone, including a carved stone with
a 12/13th C, decorated capital, suggestive of a substantial
building in the near vicinity were dredged from the river Avon
in 1962. Information from workmen engaged on the site disclosed
that a short length of flint wall had been found and that the
blocks of stone had come from the river or the extreme edge of
the island fronting the river. (4)
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