Lambeth Palace, on
the south bank of the River Thames opposite Parliament (London), has been a
historic London residence of Archbishops of Canterbury since the 13th century.
It acts as a home for the Archbishop and his family when in London and as the
central office for his national and international ministry. The south bank of
the Thames was an attractive choice for the location of an Archbishop's Palace,
with its proximity to Westminster and the Royal Court.
Stephen Langton is
thought to have been the first Archbishop to live at Lambeth in the thirteenth
century. Prior to this it was traditional for the Archbishop to live in
Canterbury. Langton's Chapel, and below it the Crypt, form the oldest part of
Lambeth Palace today. All of the other buildings that exist within the Palace
grounds have been added, expanded and altered over the centuries to suit changes
in fashion and purpose.
While the
Archbishop's residence at Lambeth had a great entrance from the 1320's, the
imposing gateway - Morton's Tower - that can be seen today was not built until
1490. Morton's Tower is still used as the main entrance into Lambeth Palace
although this, the Guard Room, the Chapel and Crypt are the only sections of
Lambeth Palace that have survived from this time.
The Great Hall at
Lambeth Palace currently houses much of the Lambeth Palace Library. It has been
built and re-built many times over the centuries, not least as a result of
damage during the English Civil War and the London blitz.
Following the
appointment of Archbishop Howley in 1828, famous architect of the day Edward
Blore was invited to survey the collection of buildings that made up Lambeth
Palace at that time. The effects of the Civil War and the subsequent patch-up
building repairs and renovations that followed were still quite visible during
the early 19th century. Blore proceeded to give a fairly devastating account of
the Palace's condition. He described it as "miserably deficient as the
residence of so distinguished a person as the Archbishop of Canterbury".
Blore went on to build the residential wing, which was completed in 1833. This
building now forms much of the Palace that functions today. 'The Blore
Building', as it came to be known was built in Bath Stone to a gothic revival
style. Blore also took great care to restore the Guard Room while connecting it
to the rest of his building. The 14th Century roof of the Guard Room was
suspended on stilts whilst Blore constructed a system for replacing and reconnecting
the walls. Some of the surrounding buildings were preserved and arrangements
were made for these rooms and the Great Hall to house the Palace Library.
Following the Second
World War Archbishop Fisher commissioned massive restoration work on the Palace.
The Chapel and Lollards Tower were gutted by the direct hit of an incendiary
bomb on the 10th May 1941. As a result the roof and windows were replaced in
the Chapel, whilst the ceilings in the Post Room and Lollards Tower were reinforced
with brick and timber.
The new plain white
ceiling of the Chapel was not re-painted until the 1980s and much of the
restoration work took the remainder of the 20th century to complete. The Atrium
was built in the year 2000. This glass-roofed room is the most recent addition
to be made to Lambeth Palace; however its awarding winning contemporary style
was specially designed to sit sympathetically within its 13th and 19th century
surroundings.
Today Lambeth Palace
continues to be the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury and his family.
A series of offices at the Palace form the working centre of the Archbishop's
national and international ministry. The Palace Library remains a place of
academic study while many of the beautiful rooms have retained their original
function as spaces for hospitality. The Chapel and the Crypt Chapel are used
daily for worship and prayer by the Archbishop and the Sisters at Lambeth.
The Palace serves as
a venue for hospitality and events for the Church of England and in the summer
its sizeable grounds play host to garden parties for organisations and
charities supported by the Archbishop.
Guided tours of the Palace are frequently arranged. Within the grounds
of Lambeth Palace is located the Lambeth Palace Library, with its notable store
of ecclesiastical documents covering - alongside the records of the Church of
England - the archive of former Archbishops of Canterbury.