Winchester Palace

Winchester Palace was the London home of the powerful Bishops of Winchester, founded by Bishop Henry of Blois, brother of King Stephen, and one of the largest and most important buildings in medieval London. What survives is part of the great hall, whose west gable still holds a magnificent rose window above doors that led to the buttery, pantry and kitchen. Below lay a vaulted cellar with a passage to the river wharf, and in 1424 James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort held their wedding feast here. The palace later became tenements and warehouses, a fire in 1814 destroyed most of it, and the ruins were revealed during redevelopment in the 1980s. Bankside Open Spaces Trust manages the site and has planted a medieval-style garden in the hall. The Thames Path runs past, and reviewers treat the ruins as a quick stop between Southwark Cathedral, the Golden Hinde and Borough Market. There is no access inside.