Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 April 2011
This paper provides a comprehensive description of St Davids Bishop's Palace. Almost completely built under the patronage of Bishop Henry de Gower (1328–47), it represents the most remarkable secular building in the Decorated style. Detailed analysis of each elevation of the palace has enabled sixteen phases of work to be identified, nine of which are grouped into three building campaigns sponsored by Bishop de Gower. This has enabled the evolution of the plan and the functions of the different rooms to be identified. The two main ranges of the palace are decorated with a unique, arcaded parapet, containing over 130 carved corbels, with other sculpture surviving internally. This represents the largest group of sculpture in a domestic building of this period and a detailed catalogue and analysis is presented. Both the architectural detailing and the sculpture show that the master craftsmen had close links with the Bristol school of the Decorated period.