Lamphey Bishop's Palace

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Free entry for everyone; no membership card is needed.

ParkingParking not known

The Trust's page does not say how parking is charged.

Parking details

Cadw names parking for up to 15 cars in a lay-by across the road from the palace, on the lane along its west side; no charge or free statement is published, so the status is recorded as unknown, and reviewers describe good, free parking. The Lamphey Court Hotel's car parks next door are for its customers. With the visitor centre closed, a gravel lane to the side of the palace leads to the side gate, with a ramp from the rear gate into the grounds.

Driving pin: the lay-by on the lane, 40 m west of Cadw's marker. By road: the A4139 from Pembroke or Tenby. By rail: Lamphey station, 600 m, on the Pembroke Dock line. By bus: routes 349 and 359 between Tenby, Pembroke and Haverfordwest stop 600 m away. National Cycle Network route 4 passes 200 m away.

About

Lamphey Bishop's Palace, Llys yr Esgob Llandyfai, shows that life was not so hard for the medieval bishops of St Davids: a country retreat from the burdens of Church and State, with private accommodation, a grand great hall, a first-floor chamber, fishponds, orchards, vegetable gardens and a 144-acre park. Most of the palatial grounds are the work of the dynamic Henry de Gower, bishop from 1328 to 1347, whose great halls and chapels stand over vaulted basements with the distinctive arcaded parapets also seen at St Davids and Swansea. In the 19th century the ruins became a garden for the mansion of Lamphey Court next door. Reviewers find it peaceful and immaculately kept, with plenty of nooks and windows for children to explore but few information boards; the visitor centre is closed, so enter by the side gate from the gravel lane, where a lay-by takes about 15 cars. Dogs on short leads may explore the ground level.

Check today’s timesPick a day for times and prices

Today, Saturday 24 October

Lamphey Bishop's Palace10:00 – 16:00last admission 15:30

Free entry

Opening times may change at short notice.

Open 10am to 4pm all year, last admission 30 minutes before closing; closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January. The visitor centre is currently closed, so visitors enter by the side gate (17 October 2026). No admission charge. Cadw may close monuments at short notice in extreme weather.

Terrain level 1, accessible: immaculate grounds of relatively flat grass and chippings give easy access to most of the palace, and the gravel lane to the side gate has a ramp from the rear gate into the grounds. Modern and historic steps with handrails lead to the upper levels, uneven in places, and the view from the ground loses nothing. No toilets, cafe or shop while the visitor centre is closed. Drones are not permitted.

Dogs: Dogs on short leads are welcome on the ground level of the palace; the upper levels reached by steps are for assistance dogs only. Notice boards on site ask for short leads.

Photo: The gabled ruins of the halls at Lamphey Bishop's Palace with an external stone stair and arched undercroft openings, the chapel's traceried window behind, on a sunny day. John H Darch, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bishop%27s_Palace,_Lamphey_-_geograph.org.uk_-_6305687.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.