The administrative centre was the Bishop’s Palace, the third element in the central complex. When it was built in the late 12th century, the Bishop’s Palace was one of the most important buildings in England. Built by the canonised bishop Hugh of Lincoln, the palace’s East Hall range over a vaulted under-croft is the earliest surviving example of a roofed domestic hall. The chapel range and entrance tower were built by Bishop William of Alnwick, who modernised the palace in the 1430s. Both Henry VIII and James I were guests of bishops here; the palace was sacked by royalist troops during the Civil War in 1648.
Following a recent break-in, some of the stained glass windows of the Cathedral have had to be replaced.