Winchester Palace

You are looking at the surviving gable wall of what was once the grandest residence in medieval Southwark. This skeletal stone ruin, featuring a distinct fourteenth-century rose window, marks the location of Winchester Palace. Built in the twelfth century, it served as the luxurious London townhouse for the Bishops of Winchester, who were among the wealthiest and most powerful figures in the kingdom. Because these bishops often served as the royal treasurer, they required a high-status residence here to attend court and Parliament, effectively placing them just across the river from the heart of the city of London.