The Bishop'S House

The Bishop's House is a large house located on Eastgate, Lincoln, with origins in the late 13th century. It has undergone significant alteration and development through the 16th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. It was formerly known as Atherstone House and was once part of a larger complex incorporating nearby buildings. The structure is a mix of timber framing and brick, with stucco applied to the south and east facades, and a plain tile roof. It has a complex L-shaped layout.

The exterior exhibits a plinth, projecting quoins, moulded eaves bands, coped gables, and a parapet. The two-story main block features eight unequal bays with mainly glazing bar sash windows. The east front includes a late 18th-century two-story canted bay window with French windows, a sham window, and a 19th-century double-gabled addition with a shallow porch and a tall corniced triple sash window. The south front is triple-gabled with a recessed centre added in 1928, and various sash windows, including several smaller ones. The left gable has three sashes on each floor, while the lower right gable features a 19th-century French window and a sash window with a plaque above it.

The interior features a central entrance hall with an open string staircase, vase and stem balusters, square newels, and a moulded handrail. A late 19th-century wooden fireplace with a panelled overmantel is also present. The former billiard room (now a study) has a dentilled frieze and a panelled ceiling, along with an early 19th-century marble fireplace with enriched Classical details. The drawing room, remodeled in 1927, has pairs of wooden Doric columns supporting spine beams with terminal pilasters, a moulded cornice, and a coved ceiling. An adjoining dining room features early 20th-century panelling, and a sitting room has a late 18th-century enriched wooden Classical fireplace and a moulded cornice.

A first-floor west bedroom retains late 18th-century panelling with fluted Doric pilasters concealing earlier 16th-century panelling, a dentilled cornice, and a late 18th-century slate fireplace with flattened pilasters and an oval cartouche. An east bedroom has 18th-century moulded cornices and spine beams. The second floor has an early 19th-century service stair with stick balusters, and rooms with moulded cornices. The left gable displays exposed principal rafters with double purlins and a tie beam.