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The Bishop's Palace at Bishop's Sutton was situated to the north of the church on the other side of the stream - between the stream, the cress track and Bighton lane.

In 1136 King Stephen exchanged with his brother The Bishop of Winchester Henry de Blois his manor at Sutton with Henry’s manor at Morden surrey. From then it became Bishop's Sutton and it was from about that time that Henry had his palace constructed. Henry was a prolific builder (like the palace at Bishop's Waltham ) of smaller churches, palaces and castles. It is likely he had a hand in St Nicholas church in Bishops Sutton.

As Bishop's Sutton grew in importance, it soon became one of the Bishop's prize possessions and became a regular haunt of for the Bishops of Winchester who would have stayed at the palace - for example Bishop de Roche spent Christmas at Bishop’s Sutton 1211. These were incredibly powerful men and would have trailed around a huge retinue with them.
By the mid 1500’s the palace was described as such “The manor-howse being a verie olde howse, somtyme walled round abowte with stone, now decaied, well waterid with an olde ponde or moote adjoyning to it.”

In 1830 the last remnant of the palace was being used as a malthouse. In 1839 Duthy states: "Within the memory of persons still living considerable vestiges of a strong and extensive building stood in the meadows to the north of the church, which were the dilapidated remains of an ancient palace of the Bishops of Winchester. The walls were of great thickness and composed of flints and mortar, but it was impossible to trace the disposition of the apartments or the form of the edifice."

Duthy further noted that the site had been used as a defensive position during the skirmishes leading up to the Battle of Cheriton (1644), and that the episcopal manor house was destroyed as a result.

A report on the site from 1956 states Around the site are many large flints and a few tile fragments. Examination of mole casts within the area revealed a few pieces of roofing slate. A fragment of flint rubble walling, 1.1m. thick, projects a metre or so into a watercress bed. According to the foreman (Mr. W. Brown, 2 Holbury Cottages, Bishop's Sutton) this was uncovered whilst extending the bed.

In the summer of 1976, the lines of the walls showed up clearly.

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The Domesday book is the name given to the Liber de Wintonia "Book of Winchester", a manuscript that contains the Great Survey of 1086 taken during 1085-1086 under the orders of King William (the Conqueror). It covered most of England and Wales.

Sudtone was in the Hundred of Esselei which translates to Ashley. A Hundred was a division of a Shire for military and judicial purposes and contained several places. in 1086 Esselei contained Sutton, West Tisted and Bramdean. It is virtually the same area as the later Bishop's Sutton Hundred which also included Bighton.

The fact that Headley near Alton was also included in Sutton possibly accounts for the three of the four mills; Headley continued to be associated with Bishop's Sutton until well into the 19th century

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This is the report of an assault and Robbery by Charles Weeks and his wife Sarah upon John Glasspool in 1816 and the following trial at the Lent Assizes in Winchester the following year. Charles met a grim end but it is unknown what became of his wife Sarah.

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Report of Attack Portsmouth Evening News 17 May 1939

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