Lyddington Bede House

Lyddington Bede House (or Lyddington Bedehouse) is a historic house in Rutland, England, owned and opened to the public by English Heritage. The existing Grade I listed building is a part of a former palace of the Bishops of Lincoln, later used as an almshouse. It is next to St Andrew's Church in the village of Lyddington. The watch tower or gazebo is separately listed as Grade I and the boundary walls are Grade II. The site is a scheduled monument.

History
The medieval Diocese of Lincoln was the largest bishopric in England, extending from the River Thames to the Humber Estuary. Lyddington lay on a north–south road and the estate here was a convenient place for the bishop's entourage to stop when traversing the diocese.

After the Reformation, ownership passed to the Cecil family who made it their private house. By 1600 it had passed to Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, son of Lord Burghley, who converted it into an almshouse for twelve poor bedesmen and it continued in this use until 1930. A feature is the former bishop's Great Chamber with its beautifully carved ceiling cornice.

The remains of the fishponds of the bishop's palace are nearby.

Nearby English Heritage attractions

 * Rushton Triangular Lodge
 * Kirby Hall
 * Eleanor Cross, Geddington

See also: other palaces and residences of the Bishop of Lincoln

 * ?Biggleswade
 * Buckden Palace, Huntingdonshire
 * Dorchester on Thames, Oxfordshire
 * Fingest, Buckinghamshire.
 * Horncastle, Lincolnshire. Bishop's Palace
 * Lincoln Medieval Bishop's Palace
 * London, Camden, Inn of the Bishop of Lincoln, later Southampton House. Purchased from Templars by Bishop Robert de Chesney (1148–68)
 * ?Louth, Lincolnshire
 * Nettleham, Lincolnshire
 * Spaldwick, Huntingdonshire, Bury Close
 * Stow, Lincolnshire
 * Thame, Oxfordshire
 * Wooburn, Buckinghamshire. Bishop's Palace