Bastion To North East Angle And Attached Walls Of Garden Of Former Episcopal Palace

The bastion at the northeast angle and the attached walls of the garden of the former Episcopal Palace in Lichfield are significant structures, likely dating from the early 14th century, with later alterations including 17th and 18th century garden walls. The bastion features dressed stone and brick, with an octagonal tower that has a rubble base and brick facing, complemented by stone quoins and raking brick buttresses. A parapet from the 18th or 19th century includes some stone coping. Much of the detail is obscured by ivy, but a stone-dressed window can be seen on the southeast side, and the entrance on the west has a shouldered lintel and a battened door.

Inside, there is a stone dogleg stair and a chamber with a garderobe, three high windows, and what is likely a late medieval vault. The garden wall runs south along the line of the medieval defenses, while the rear garden wall extends west, with a dry moat to the north and east. The rear wall features stone facing and raking buttresses to the north, and a stone base to the south. The east end of this wall has been modified for a conservatory that has since been demolished. The wall to the west marks the boundary between the gardens of the Deanery and the Palace, with a deviation to the east about halfway along its length; part of this wall may date from the late 17th century. This bastion and its walls are an important remnant of the medieval defenses of the close.