Entrance Hall, Bishop's Palace, Wells

The entrance hall or gallery was possibly an area of small rooms for servants and stores in the 13th century. Following the reconstruction of the range in the mid 19th century the space was turned into an entrance hall or passage giving access to the chapel and garden at one end and the great staircase guarded by heraldic beasts at the other. The 16th-century fireplace was introduced from the floor above when that storey was rebuilt in the 19th century. The floor is of stone flagstones and the ceiling is a quadripartite ribbed vault like that of the undercroft.