Buckden Towers - A Gateway into English History

Buckden Towers:-

A Gateway into English History

There are few better sites to contemplate England’s changing history, past & present, than the Bishops palace at Buckden. The parish church reminds visitors of the four centuries of English history spearheaded by the Frenchman William the Conqueror. Under his successors the small manor owned by the Lincoln bishops grew into an important site for administering Church business, providing local boar and venison as well as fish from its ponds and wine from local vineyards. The Tudor bishops rebuilt the site with buildings still in use today, which served briefly for the imprisonment of Katharine of Aragon who is remembered today with a beautiful Knot Garden. Oliver Cromwell’s men pillaged useful materials and timber but the Restoration Bishops restored the site, which still has some superb specimens of trees they to admire today. By Victorian times the site was no longer needed for church purposes and it acquired a quality Victorian House while the Great Tower became a garden ‘Folly’. Partially restored between the 1st & 2nd World Wars it was returned to religious use in the 1950’s and has been restored to a private but active site. You can visit it by booking a tour via the Friends of Buckden Towers who can personalize it to your interests and provide light refreshments if needed.