(1525–1571). The large mansion house on the west side of Southwark High Street is
Suffolk House, beyond which, by the river and to the west (left) of St Saviour's Church, is Winchester House Southwark in the county of Surrey was formerly the largest
manor in the
Diocese of Winchester and the
Bishop of Winchester was a major landowner in the area. He was a great power in the land, and traditionally served as the king's royal treasurer, performing the function of the modern
Chancellor of the Exchequer. He thus frequently needed to attend the king both at his court in
Westminster, at the
Tower of London and also was required to attend
Parliament with other bishops and major abbots. The city of
Winchester had been the capital of the Saxon kings of England. For that purpose,
Henry of Blois built the palace as his comfortable and high-status London residence. Most of the other English bishops similarly had episcopal palaces in London, most notably
Lambeth Palace, residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. From 1682 to 1686 the palace was remodelled adding Corinthian columns and pilasters, to give a more contemporary Renaissance look the sculpture and masonry being by
Edward Strong the Elder. The palace remained in use until around 1700, when it was converted and divided into tenements and warehouses. These were mostly destroyed by fire in 1814. Part of the
great hall, and the west gable end with its
rose window became more visible after a 19th-century fire and 20th-century
redevelopment. It is believed that the great hall was built in about 1136. The hall was enlarged and the rose window built in the 14th century, possibly by Bishop
William of Wykeham (reigned 1367–1398). Below the hall was a richly decorated vaulted cellar with direct access to a
wharf on the River Thames for bringing in supplies. Royal visitors were entertained at the palace, including King
James I of Scotland on his wedding to
Joan Beaufort (niece of the then bishop,
Cardinal Henry Beaufort) in 1424. The palace was arranged around two courtyards. Other buildings within the site included a prison, a brewery and a butchery. The palace environs comprised a garden, a
tennis court and a bowling alley. During the
Civil War Sir
Thomas Ogle was imprisoned here, during which time he tried to draw
Thomas Devenish, a member of
John Goodwin's
Independent Congregation, into a royalist plot to split the Parliamentarian Independents from the Presbyterians in order to assist Charles I's numbers in Parliament. ==The Clink Liberty==