First built in the bishop's residence were made of wood, and the courtyard was surrounded by a fence made of wood and a few gates. In the middle of the 17th century over the gate it was built Trehsvyatnaya house church. By the mid-17th century the residence of bishops were all necessary for the diocesan administrative center of the room. There were "treasury", "crusades" bishop cells, "sticky" the church, "the portal" cottage and numerous outbuildings. All these wooden buildings were rebuilt several times, as can be judged on various documentary archives, for example, the book scribe Vologda 1627.

At the end of the 1650s there was the first stone building which belonged to the Bishops house - Ekonomsky body that housed the treasury and state-owned cell .  The second stone building was named diocesan court Simonovsky body or Bishop's chambers, having a smoke domed Church of the Nativity .  The case was named after Archbishop Simon, who during his lifetime and it was built during the years 1669-1671 .  Over 17 - the first half of the 18th century Simonovsky body considered the most luxurious building in the episcopal residence, as well as the entire Vologda .  Later lined extension only distorted not only external but also internal shape of this structure .  As a result of the restoration of the 1960's in some way it has been partially restored pre-existing magnificent architectural appearance of the building facades .  Even Simonovsky body is considered a unique example of civil architecture in the second half of the 17th century .

Immediately after the Bishops' yard was built, it was surrounded by high walls made of stone, which is inseparably linked with a number of outbuildings located shopping. Surprisingly high wall with loopholes and covered walkways on the inside resembles a fortress, despite the fact that he had never been attacked by enemy forces. This kind of attributes serf architecture carried a purely symbolic. The construction of strong walls was caused only by ideological objectives of praise and exaltation of the Church and the bishop. Exaltation of the front and large residences for religious authorities is particularly typical of the late 17th century.

Over time, the Bishops yard there were all new construction, as well as modified and altered earlier. Most of the buildings in the courtyard are closely connected with the walls, which creates the illusion of a whole and is of great interest in terms of the unique samples preserved 17th century.

In the late 17th - early 18th century, a new building - Gavriilovsky housing which on the south side belonged to the Archbishop's Chambers. Shortly after its construction, in the eastern part of the yard it was attached and functional significance of the building - Unnamed building, which housed the treasury and state cells. In the 17th century Gavriilovsky body was renamed Irineevsky.

In the 1740s, there were one-story stone and storerooms, located perpendicular to the Simonovsky body. Consequently, the case was severely altered that affected the facade of the building, previously made curly frames.

Thus, all the architectural structures involved in the ensemble played a very important role in the image of a harmonious Bishops Court. In addition, in this architectural ensemble and you can see an amazing mix of architectural styles associated three centuries. Currently, the former Archbishop courtyard are two entrances: one is located in the northern part of the stone wall leading to the patio Consistory, and the second is in the span between the bell tower and the Resurrection Cathedral.