| Lambeth Palace | |
|---|---|
 Lambeth Palace, photographed looking east across theRiver Thames. Visible are the 15th-century Lollards' Tower at left, the 17th-century Great Hall (withcupola) at centre, the late 15th-century brick gatehouse towards the right, and the 14th-century tower of St Mary-at-Lambeth on the far right. | |
| Type | Archbishop's palace |
| Location | Lambeth,London |
| Coordinates | 51°29′44″N0°7′11″W / 51.49556°N 0.11972°W /51.49556; -0.11972 |
| Architectural style | Tudor |
| Owner | See of Canterbury |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | Lambeth Palace |
| Designated | 19 October 1951 |
| Reference no. | 1116399 |
| Official name | Lambeth Palace |
| Designated | 1 October 1987 |
| Reference no. | 1000818 |
  Location of Lambeth Palace in Greater London | |
Lambeth Palace is the officialLondon residence of theArchbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in northLambeth, London, on the south bank of theRiver Thames, 400 yards (370 metres)[1] south-east of thePalace of Westminster, which housesParliament, on the opposite bank.
Close toWestminster and theCity, the estate was first acquired by the archbishopric for the archbishop (who also has a residence atOld Palace, Canterbury) around 1200.
While the original residence of the archbishop of Canterbury was in hisepiscopal see,Canterbury, Kent,[2] a site originally called the Manor of Lambeth or Lambeth House was acquired by thediocese aroundAD 1200 (though ArchbishopAnselm had a house there a century earlier)[3] and has since served as the archbishop's London residence. The site was chosen for its convenient proximity to the royal palace and government seat of Westminster, just across the Thames.[3] The site is bounded byLambeth Palace Road to the west andLambeth Road to the south, but it is excluded from theparish ofNorth Lambeth which encompasses all other surrounding land. The garden park islisted and resemblesArchbishop's Park, a neighbouring public park; however, it was a larger area with a notableorchard until the early 19th century. The former church in front of its entrance has been converted to theGarden Museum. The south bank of the Thames along this reach, not part of historic London, developed slowly because the land was low and sodden: it was calledLambeth Marsh, as far downriver as the presentBlackfriars Road. The origins of the name of Lambeth come from its first record in 1062 asLambehitha, meaning 'landing place for lambs' ('hitha' or 'hithe' referring to a landing on the river): archbishops came and went by water, as didJohn Wycliffe, who was tried here forheresy in 1378. In thePeasants' Revolt of 1381, the palace was attacked.Cardinal Pole lay in state in the palace for 40 days after he died there in 1558.
The palace was againattacked in May 1640 during a period of popular discontent with theArminianist theology of theArchbishop,William Laud, in the hope of capturing him.[4] The palace was ransacked and partially demolished by the Parliamentarians in theEnglish Civil War of the 1640s, necessitating major reconstruction, especially of the great hall, in 1660–1663.
New construction was added to the building in 1829–1834 byEdward Blore (1787–1879), who rebuilt much ofBuckingham Palace later, in neo-Gothic style and it fronts a spacious quadrangle.[3] Blore's large extensions to house the archbishop meant that the original buildings could be converted to the archdiocese's library, record office and secretariat.[3] The palace was damaged in theBlitz of 1941. The buildings form the home of the archbishop, who is regarded as thefirst among equals in theAnglican Communion, and isex officio a member of theHouse of Lords.
The building islisted in the highest category,Grade I, for its architecture. The palace consists of two main structures: the residence itself, which is built round acloister, and Morton's Tower, which forms the main entry. The medieval building had three more courtyards, which have since disappeared, as has the moat that surrounded the complex.[3] The unusual inclusion of a cloister may be because ArchbishopHubert Walter initially intended to found aPremonstratensian abbey on the site, before settling on a palace.[3] The original timber cloister, which held the archbishop's library, was replaced by the present structure in 1830.[3] The oldest remaining part of the palace is the 13th-century chapel which was built in theEarly English Gothic architectural style. It stands above a vaulted undercroft, which has a central line of columns. This part had to be heavily restored after the Blitz, so most of its fittings are of 1954–55.[3] The medievalgreat hall, now gone, appears to have been rebuilt following damage in the Peasants' Revolt. The south end of the hall joined the kitchen and offices, while a stair at the north end led to the archbishop's apartments. One 14th-century room of these apartments, now known as the Guard Chamber, still stands, with its original elaborate roof.[3] Further private accommodation was added when the Water orLollards' Tower, built of KentishRagstone withashlar quoins, was built at the north-west corner in 1434–35.[3][5] It was extended and heightened later in the century, and again in the early 16th century whenLaud's Tower was built next to it.[3] At the top of the stair was the Archbishop's prison, a room also seen atWinchester Palace in Southwark. The massive five-storey brickgatehouse was built byCardinalJohn Morton and completed in 1495 and housed eight lodgings for the Archbishop's household.[3] Improvements continued into the 16th century, when ArchbishopCranmer built a brick tower north-east of the chapel to house his study.[3]
The most serious damage done by the Cromwellians in the late 1640s was the demolition of the great hall and the sale of its materials. After theRestoration, it was completely rebuilt by ArchbishopWilliam Juxon in 1663 (dated) with a late Gothichammerbeam roof. The choice of a hammerbeam roof was evocative, as it reflected the High-Church Anglican continuity with the Old Faith (the King's (Charles II)brother was an avowed Catholic) and served as a visual statement that theInterregnum was over. As with some Gothic details on University buildings of the same date, it is debated among architectural historians whether this is"Gothic survival" or an early work of the "Gothic Revival". The diaristSamuel Pepys recognised it as "a new old-fashioned hall". Major work was done by Blore in 1829–1833, with large parts of the medieval palace being rebuilt, and an extensive new wing in Gothic revival style added.
Among the portraits of the archbishops in the palace are works byHans Holbein,Anthony van Dyck,William Hogarth and SirJoshua Reynolds.[citation needed]
Thefig tree in the palace courtyard is possibly grown from a slip taken from one of theWhite Marseille fig trees here for centuries (reputedly planted by Cardinal Pole). In 1786,[6] there were three ancient figs, two "nailed against the wall" and still noted in 1826 as "two uncommonly fine... traditionally reported to have been planted by Cardinal Pole, and fixed against that part of the palace believed to have been founded by him. They are of the white Marseilles sort, and still bear delicious fruit. ...On the south side of the building, in a small private garden, is another tree of the same kind and age."[7] By 1882, their place had been taken by several massive offshoots.[8] The notable orchard of the medieval period has somewhat given way to a mirroring public park adjoining and built-up roads of housing and offices. The palace gardens werelisted grade II in October 1987.[9]
Within the palace precincts isLambeth Palace Library, the official library of the archbishop of Canterbury, and the principal repository of records of theChurch of England. It describes itself as "the largest religious collection outside of theVatican".[10]
The library was founded as a public library by ArchbishopRichard Bancroft in 1610.[11] It was historically located within the main palace complex, but in 2021 a new purpose-built library and repository building opened. This is located at the far end of the palace gardens, with its entrance on Lambeth Palace Road, and was designed byWright & Wright. In addition to the existing library collections, it houses the archival collections of various Church of England institutions formerly held at theChurch of England Record Centre (opened 1989) inBermondsey.[12]
The library contains an extensive collection of material relating to ecclesiastical history, including the archives of the archbishops dating back to the 12th century, and those of other church bodies and of variousAnglican missionary and charitable societies. Manuscripts include items dating back to the 9th century. The library also holds over 120,000 printed books. In 1996, whenSion College Library closed, Lambeth Palace Library acquired its important holdings of manuscripts, pamphlets, and pre-1850 printed books.
Topics covered by the collections range from the history of art and architecture to colonial andCommonwealth history, and numerous aspects of Englishsocial, political and economic history. The library is also an important resource forlocal history andgenealogy. For online catalogues, seeExternal links below.
Notable items in the collections include:
.jpg)
Immediately outside the gatehouse stands the former parish church of St Mary-at-Lambeth which was preserved by a campaign led by John andRosemary Nicholson.[13] The tower dates from 1377 (repaired in 1834); while the body of the church was rebuilt in 1851 to the designs ofPhilip Hardwick.[9] Older monuments were preserved, including the tombs of some of the gardeners and plantsmenJohn Tradescant the elder andhis son of the same name, and of AdmiralWilliam Bligh. St Mary's was deconsecrated in 1972, when the parish was absorbed into the surrounding parish of North Lambeth which has three active churches, the nearest beingSt Anselm's Church, Kennington Cross.[14][15] The Museum of Garden History (now theGarden Museum) opened in the building in 1977, taking advantage of its Tradescant associations.
During renovation works in 2016, a previously unknown crypt was discovered, containing 30 coffins.[16] Amongst these were those of five archbishops of Canterbury—Richard Bancroft,Thomas Tenison,Matthew Hutton,Frederick Cornwallis, andJohn Moore—as well as that ofJohn Bettesworth,Dean of the Arches.
Lambeth Palace is home to theCommunity of Saint Anselm, anAnglican religious order that is under the patronage of the archbishop of Canterbury.[17]
