King Athelstan's Palace
King Athelstan's Palace is an earthwork by Sherburn-in-Elmet in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The site is more properly known as 'Hall Garth', and is the site of a palace granted (along with the manor of Cawood) by King Athelstan to the Archbishops of York, to mark his victory over the combined Scots and Norse forces at Brunanburh in 937.
The site consists of a number of earthworks, including building platforms, wall lines, ditches, terraces and small quarrying scoops. It is on a north facing hillside, the crest of which is occupied by the parish church.
The site is a scheduled ancient monument.[1][2]
History
King Athelstan conquered the Norse kingdom of York in 927 and united England, sealing his victory with s conference of kings at Eamotum. In 937 the Kings of Scotland and Strathclyde rebelled and joined the Viking King of Dublin in an invasion, defeated by Athelstan at the Battle of Brunanburh. As thanks for this victory, the King gave the manors at Sherburn and Cawood to the Archbishop of York. There is documentary evidence that there was a wealthy Anglo-Saxon church here associated with the palace, and the Domesday Book of 1086 shows no drop in income for the manor, unlike most other areas of Yorkshire that suffered the 'Harrying of the North'.
The Anglo-Saxon church was replaced c.1100 by a larger church which still stands immediately to the south of the monument, but the palace had fallen into ruin by 1361 when the then Archbishop, John Thoresby, ordered its demolition. The stone from the palace was then used in the building of the choir at York Minster.
The remains
The site retains a number of earthwork features, typically standing up to two feet high. The northern boundary of the monument is marked by a broad, straight, U-shaped depression about 6m wide with a slight bank on its southern side. This is interpreted as the partially silted boundary ditch of the archbishop's palace. Close to the western side of the monument there is a large pond, about ten yards by twenty yards, with further structures shown reaching to the edge of the churchyard.[1]
Location
- Location map: 53°47’48"N, 1°15’36"W
- Streetmap: SE48853362
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 National Heritage List 1017486: Site of 'King Athelstan's Palace' (Scheduled ancient monument entry)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1009383: Site of Archbishop's moated palace and fishponds, Hall Garth (Scheduled ancient monument entry)