Lambeth palace

Lambeth palace. Originally approached by boat, Lambeth and its manor house was bought by Baldwin (c.1185). Known as Lambeth House until 1658, it is conveniently near the administrative centres of Westminster and Whitehall for archbishops as ‘Primates of all England’. The Old Palace, Canterbury, is their diocesan residence. The chapel was the venue of Parker's historic consecration, the only archbishop to be buried there. The first Lambeth conference (1867) was held in the 14th-cent. guard room; later conferences (1878–1958) were held in the hall. The chapel undercroft dates from Langton, the chapel itself originally from c.1230. The great hall, with its hammer-beam roof, has an exterior rebuilt, possibly by Wren (c.1660–3), after destruction during the Commonwealth. From c.1830 it has housed the library, now of c.200,000 books and 4,000 manuscripts, a collection founded by Bancroft (1610). The residential section was rebuilt in Tudor style (c.1830). The entrance is by Morton's tower (c.1495). Second World War bombing destroyed the chapel and severely devastated the hall and residence, but all was restored (1955). The chapel and its undercroft were refurbished with murals and stalls for each primate world-wide (1988). The historic private garden, London's oldest and second largest, was restored and revitalized (1988).

Revd Dr William M. Marshall