• In 1156 and 1175 a Chamber, Chapel and Offices were built.
• Between 1214 - 1222 the Abbot's Great Gate and Knights Chamber were built.
• In 13th century the Great Hall and Guest Chambers built.
• Late 13th century a new chapel was added.
• Early 16th century bow windows in the Great Hall were added.
• In 1539 the dissolution of the Abbey and the lodgings were surveyed, and contents published. As the Abbey changed to a Cathedral, the Abbots lodging changed to the Bishop's Palace.
• In 1644 the stately thrones were torn down from the Great Hall.
• Late 18th century some of the west front was taken down, sash windows were added; bay windows on the south front and a porch on the east side in Gothic style, were also added
• Early 19th century the north wing was rebuilt
• Between 1864 - 1865 refurbishments took place, including a new dining room with 2 rooms above it, and a new staircase; the entrance hall was rebuilt and the rooms above were gutted and rebuilt, the floor was underpinned and additional service accommodation was added.
• 1869 a new private chapel was commissioned by William Magee.
• 1891 the entrance hall took its present form, old sashes on the 1st floor were replaced with mullion and windows.
• 1895 the kitchen and nursery were updated.
• 1897 an additional 2-storey range was built on the east side.
• In 19th century a porch was added into the entrance.
• In the 1950's the private chapel, commissioned by William Magee, was demolished.
• The present Bishop of Peterborough, Rev Ian Cundy, currently occupies it.

Architecture:

The Palace lies close to the western walk of the cloisters and is mainly Victorian Gothic in style, but features of various dates are also visible. The enclosure of the Palace spans about 5 acres and is bound in by the city street.

There are 2 gateways leading into the Palace grounds, the outer gateway, is 3-storey height and has turrets that contain a statue of an Abbot and Prior. The centre is gabled and contains a statue of King Edward, seated, above 2 windows. This entrance leads through to the Great Gate with the Knights Chamber above.

The Great Gate House has a finely vaulted ceiling, rising from circular pillars and corbels in the walls. The undercroft was lit by narrow lancet windows, only 1 of which remains.

The Knights Chamber was formerly decorated with pictures of the knights who met there, and the accommodation that it provided was very sumptuous.

The Palace itself is an irregular cluster of buildings, there is a central group with an extension to the south, and it brings together a complex mix of work from various periods.

The entrance hall is the oldest portion remaining, it has vaulted arches and a groined ceiling; during the 1860's restoration the stone vaults and pillars were renewed and a Minton tile floor was laid.

The dining room has tall Gothic revival windows facing over the south garden. The plasterwork decoration includes thistles, shamrocks and roses. The central staircase, which is steep and tapering, leads to a wide landing, with an arcade of simple pointed arches.

The staff accommodation that was added in 1897 was in a vernacular style and it engages with the older south side. The wife of the Bishop at the time was responsible for the introduction of a carved chimneypiece to the drawing room, now the dining room, and the deep blue De Morgan tiles in the fireplace there and in the bedrooms.

Since the 1950's the Palace has been divided into 3 parts. The south wing is now home to the Diocesan Office and 2 flats. The Bishop has a private apartment on the 1st floor of the main block and his offices occupy parts of the ground floor, leaving the larger rooms for official engagements. Within the Palace there are historic portraits of previous Bishops.

Social history:

At the dissolution the Abbey became a Cathedral and the abbot's lodging became the Bishop's Palace. John Chambers, the first Bishop of Peterborough, occupied the lodging as the last Abbot, and it is said that when he was appointed he had to live in the Bishop's London house because the Palace was not habitable. It is probable that the Abbot's Lodging suffered greatly from depredation and neglect during the 7 years after the suppression of the monastery.

The builder of the nave of the Cathedral was Abbot Benedict and he also built the Great Hall and guest chambers of the Bishop's Palace. Abbot Robert de Lindsay built the Abbot's Great Gate.

The restorations that were completed by Bishop Francis Jeune in the late 1860's were funded by a £2000 loan from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The cost of the work was actually double that amount and a further loan of £1,800 was needed.

The private chapel that was commissioned by Bishop William Magee was designed by the architect Edward Browning of Stamford and was built by John Thompson. Simon Gunton was a local historian who recorded many of these facts, which are now some of the only descriptions available of the history of the Palace.