English Heritage

Set beside the church in a pretty ironstone-built village, Lyddington Bede House was once a wing of a palace belonging to the Bishops of Lincoln.

By 1600 it had passed to Sir Thomas Cecil, who converted it into an almshouse for 12 poor ‘bedesmen’ and two women. Lyddington Bede House was used as an almshouse until the 1930s.

Visit and you can explore the bedesmen’s rooms, with their tiny windows and fireplaces. Don’t miss the fine timbered roof, and the bishops’ great chamber on the first floor, with its beautiful carved Tudor cornice. Look out for the ‘audio boxes’ where you can hear letters read by the bedesmen. A bedesman’s and a bedeswoman’s room have been recreated as they appeared in Victorian times.

The gardens are open daily 10am - 4pm April to October.