Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite bank.

Close to Westminster and the City, the estate was first acquired by the archbishopric for the archbishop (who also has a residence at Old Palace, Canterbury) around 1200.

History

thumb|upright=1.3|The Great Hall, St Mary-at-Lambeth, and the Tudor gatehouse (from inside), with the river on the right.

While the original residence of the archbishop of Canterbury was in his episcopal see, Canterbury, Kent, a site originally called the Manor of Lambeth or Lambeth House was acquired by the diocese around AD 1200 (though Archbishop Anselm had a house there a century earlier) 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. The palace was ransacked and partially demolished by the Parliamentarians in the English 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 by Edward Blore (1787–1879), who rebuilt much of Buckingham Palace later, in neo-Gothic style and it fronts a spacious quadrangle. It was restored in 1954–55 on a limited budget, and again in 1986-88. During the second of these restorations paintings by Leonard Rosoman were added to the reconstructed vault and an elaborate screen of 1633 made by master carpenter by Adam Brown in a classical manner was taken out of storage and re-erected across the West end of the chapel. It was extended and heightened later in the century, and again in the early 16th century when Laud's Tower was built next to it.

The fig tree in the palace courtyard is possibly grown from a slip taken from one of the White Marseille fig trees here for centuries (reputedly planted by Cardinal Pole). In 1786, 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." By 1882, their place had been taken by several massive offshoots. The notable orchard of the medieval period has mostly been replaced by Archbishop's Park, an adjoining public park now vested in the local authority. The palace gardens are listed grade II in October 1987.

Lambeth Palace Library

thumb|left|Lambeth Palace Library

Located within the palace gardens is Lambeth Palace Library, the official library of the archbishop of Canterbury and now the principal unified repository of records of the Church of England. It describes itself as "the largest religious collection outside the Vatican".

The library was founded by Archbishop Richard Bancroft in 1610. It was historically stored within various rooms of the palace, but in 2021 a new purpose-built reading room, repository and conservation centre designed by Wright & Wright opened. This has a dedicated public entrance on Lambeth Palace Road. In addition to the Archbishops' historic collections the new houses the archival collections of Church of England institutions formerly held at the Church of England Record Centre (opened 1989) in Bermondsey. In 1996, when Sion College closed, Lambeth Palace Library acquired its important holdings of manuscripts, pamphlets, and pre-1850 printed books.

The library has extensive holdings relating to ecclesiastical history, including the archives of the archbishops dating back to the 12th century; records of other church bodies and of various Anglican missionary and charitable societies; manuscripts including items dating back to the 9th century; and more than 120,000 printed books. Areas covered by the collections range from the history of art and architecture to colonial and Commonwealth history, and numerous aspects of English social, political and economic history. The library is also an important resource for local history and genealogy.

The collection is available to scholars at the on-site reading rooms. For online catalogues, see External links below.

Highlights of the collection

thumb|right|upright|Illumination of the [[Tree of Jesse from the 12th-century Lambeth Bible]]

Notable items in the collections include:

  • Mac Durnan Gospels (late 9th/early 10th centuries)
  • Minuscule 473 (11th century)
  • Minuscule 559 (11th century)
  • Lambeth Apocalypse (12th century)
  • The Romanesque Lambeth Bible (12th century)
  • Lambeth Homilies ()
  • Book of Hours of King Richard III (mid 15th century)
  • A Short English Chronicle (mid 15th century)
  • A rare copy of the Gutenberg Bible (1450s)
  • Lambeth Choirbook (16th century)
  • Book of Howth (late 16th century)
  • Archives of the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches (1711–1759)
  • Archives of the Incorporated Church Building Society (1818–1982)

St Mary-at-Lambeth

thumb|upright|Tower of St Mary-at-Lambeth, now home to the [[Garden Museum]]

Immediately outside the gatehouse stands the former parish church of St Mary-at-Lambeth which was preserved by a campaign led by John and Rosemary Nicholson. The tower dates from 1377 (repaired in 1834); while the body of the church was rebuilt in 1851 to the designs of Philip Hardwick. The Museum of Garden History (now the Garden 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. Amongst these were those of five archbishops of Canterbury—Richard Bancroft, Thomas Tenison, Matthew Hutton, Frederick Cornwallis, and John Moore—as well as that of John Bettesworth, Dean of the Arches.

Resident community

Lambeth Palace is home to the Community of Saint Anselm, an Anglican religious order that is under the patronage of the archbishop of Canterbury.

See also

  • List of palaces
  • Old Palace, Canterbury, within the precincts of Canterbury Cathedral, is the residence of the archbishop when in Canterbury
  • Palace of Whitehall

References

Bibliography

  • Lambeth Palace Library official website
  • Detailed architectural description – from the Survey of London online
  • Library catalogue of printed books
  • Library catalogue of manuscripts and archives