Exterior
The palace is built of local rubble stone, mostly of a yellow hue, and has stone tile roofs, with some sections of pantiles. The plan was the quadrangular form, traditional in the late Middle Ages both for important houses and institutions such as schools, but what survives today is the entrance tower in the centre of the north east range, about half of the north west range which was extended again in c1900 and the north east corner block of the south east range. In addition to this are the granary, once the Bishop's chapel attached to the north west corner, and the kitchen and service wing at the north east corner and stretching to the east. It is difficult to describe as several portions of the building are much obscured by foliage. The description goes anti-clockwise from the entrance tower.
The entrance front has a tall tower which incorporates the main hall stack and has clearly been considerably heightened, perhaps by 3 or 4m, during the Tipping period of occupation (1894-1912). The tower is roughly square with a slight taper and contains the main wheel stair, it has four slit windows at different levels. It rises to a plain parapet with no roof visible. The hall stack is attached on the left and this rises slightly higher than the tower. To the right of this is the main entrance in a 3-centred arch. This was originally a carriage entrance into the courtyard, but now has a large panelled door, perhaps of the Tipping period. This is a three storey block and it has a two storeyed canted oriel above the entrance with 1 + 2 + 1 lights with 2-centred heads in rectangular frames and diamond lattice windows. The apron of the lower one has a carved cartouche which looks like half an orange and is the emblem of Bishop John Marshall; there are two small closet wndows to the right of this and two more in the return. The next set back section is one bay with 2-light windows as before on each floor and a gabled return to the right. Attached to this is another range which appears to be older in detail although the interior roof detail seems to suggest that it has been added to the already described range. This range has its gable to the front and has windows which appear to be c1400 and presumably the original build of Bishop John de la Zouch's time. First comes a tall lancet with one trefoil headed light above another. This is the window of the current main staircase which is Victorian and presumably the window is two medieval ones reset at that time. Then comes a 2-light mullion and transom window, all four lights have trefoil heads. A very small 2-light trefoil headed window is in the gable above. The return wall of this range has a 2-light c1900 window, ridge stack behind. Next comes a single storey wing with a granary over a cider cellar. This is said to be a C19 conversion of the Bishop's chapel. Door up a small flight of steps, single gabled half dormer with modern casement to right.
The first section of the rear elevation is a wing projecting to the south west. This range has two storeys and attic and appears to be early C16 and has 3 and 4-light stone mullioned windows, but it is so much obscured by Virginia creeper, particularly on the courtyard side that the details are hard to see. The range has been extended by Tipping and there are characteristic 3 and 4-light oak mullioned windows with leaded lattices which he and Eric Francis used at his other houses at Mounton House (qv) and High Glanau in Mitcheltroy Community (qv). The extension is in the form of a summer sitting-room with the main room on the upper floor with continuous oak mullioned glazing round three sides and a gabled roof with a boarded gable. The ground floor is in stone and has a door with a bracketted hood and a 3-light lattice casement. There is a tall stack on the main range. The rear elevation of the entrance tower is of two bays. The ground floor has a 2-light casement with 2-centred heads in a recessed frame and an arch as on the front elevation, but with glazed doors. The first floor has a 2-light window and a 4-light one over the door, the second floor has two 2-light windows. The roof is hipped to the right and has a centre ridge stack and a left gable one. The range to the right of this has a 4-light window on each floor and then the roof comes forward in a pantiled continuation of the same slope, but again the windows are obscured, there is a 4-light one on the ground floor. The kitchen and service wing now joins and this section has mostly oak windows of the Tipping period. The end gable of the house on the north east side has a 4-light window on either floor, the lower one with a flat head, the upper one with a 2-centred head and a combination of two 2-light windows with a king mullion. This returns to an outside stone stair over an arched doorway into the service end. This rises to a small doorway, now a window, and a Tipping 2-light window. The main range returns to the entrance tower with a 4-light window below and a single light and a 4-light one above. Finally the hall stack and once again the stair tower.