Introduction
The Bishopswood estate was bought in 1801 by William Partridge, a wealthy ironmaster originally from Ross, who already owned the nearby Penyard estate.
Location, Area, Boundaries, Landform and Setting
Bishopswood lies on the banks of the River Wye about four miles south-east of Ross-on-Wye. Bishopswood was later historically used for hunting in Saxon and Norman times.
Principal Building
Around 1821 William Partridge, ironmaster, built his mansion, Bishopswood House near the site and he certainly would not have done that if the furnace was still in use. However the forge and the coal-wharf seemed have continued in use. The forge appears to have retired about 1840.
Bishopswood Tower was built as a folly tower and gamekeeper's cottage on the Bishopswood estate. It is stone-built with battlements on top and rises to three storeys with a higher stair turret adjoining. It stands on a hill just over the Gloucestershire county boundary in Ruardean parish and looks down to the wooded valley of the Bishop's Brook, which forms the county boundary here. It also looks down to the site of the demolished Bishopswood Mansion.
- Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts
- History
19th Century
In the early 1820s John commissioned the architect Jeffry Wyatville to build a house called Bishopswood near Ross-On-Wye. The house was designed in about 1825 by Jeffry Wyatville to take advantage of the Picturesque setting. The site was favourably described by William Gilpin in his Observations on the River Wye of 1782.
The Mansion was destroyed by fire in 1873 but rebuilt.
20th Century
The house was demolished after another fire in 1918.
- Associated People
- Features & Designations
Designations
Features
- Mansion House (featured building)
- Description: Around 1821 William Partridge, ironmaster, built his mansion, Bishopswood House.
- Tower
- Description: This was built as a folly tower and gamekeeper's cottage on the Bishopswood estate. It is stone-built with battlements on top and rises to three storeys with a higher stair turret adjoining.
- Key Information
Civil Parish
Ross-on-Wye