Lambeth Palace

Lambeth House (or Palace) the Seat of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate and Metropolitan of all England.

Lambeth Palace. Lambeth, a village in Surry, situated on the Thames, between Southwark and Battersea, and near the south end of London bridge; is particularly famous for its containing, for several ages, the palace of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This structure was originally formed by Baldwin, Archbishop of that see, in the year 1188; who first intended to have raised a superb structure at Hackington, near this place; but the Monks, with whom he was at variance, obtained the Pope's mandate against it; when, taking down what he had erected, he removed the best of the materials to Lambeth, with which he built the palace, a college and church, having before purchased the ground of the Bishop and Convent of Rochester, by a fair exchange.

In the year 1250, Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury, having, by his arrogance, rendered himself hateful to the citizens of London, retired, for the security of his person, to this palace; and finding it in a ruinous condition, within the space of three years rebuilt the whole north side, the archiepiscopal apartments, the library and cloysters, the guard-chamber, the chapel, and Lollards tower.

From that time this palace became the residence of the greatest persons of the church, and was soon enlarged by many additional buildings: Cardinal Pool built the gate, which, for that time, is a noble structure. The Lollards tower, which is thus named from a room in it prepared for the imprisonment of the followers of Wickliff, the first British reformer, who were called Lollards, was finished by Chichely, and remains a lasting memorial of his cruelty, and antichristian spirit. It is a small room, twelve feet broad and nine long, planked with elm, and there still remain eight rings and staples, to which Christians were chained, for presuming to differ in opinion from that prelate. The spacious hall was erected by Juxton, and the brick edifice between the gate and this hall was begun by Archbishop Sancroft, and finished by the immortal Tillotson.

From the present structure being thus erected at different periods, it is not at all surprizing that it has but little appearance of uniformity; but the edifice, tho' old, is in most parts strong; the corners are faced with rustic, and the top surrounded with battlements; but the principal apartments are well proportioned, and well enlightened: the Gothic work about it is irregularly disposed, and it is in itself irregular. Some of the inner rooms are too close and confined; but there are many others open and pleasant in themselves, with the advantage of being convenient, and of affording very agreeable prospects. For as this palace is situated on the bank of the Thames, it affords a fine view up and down the river, and, from the higher apartments, a prospect of the country each way.

The palace, with the rows of trees before it, and the church of Lambeth adjoining, when viewed from the Thames, make a very pretty picturesque appearance, and this is the view which is here given.

In this palace is a very fine library, founded in the year 1610, by Archbishop Sancroft, who left by will all his books, for the, use of his successors in the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury. This library has been greatly increased by the benefactions of the Archbishops Abbot, Sheldon, and Tennison, and consists of 617 volumes in manuscript, and above 14500 printed books.

The church, which stands by the palace, is a very antique structure, dedicated to St. Mary. It has a square tower, and both that and the body of the church are crowned with battlements. In this parish are eight precincts, denominated the Archbishop's, the Prince's, Vauxhall,Kennington, the Marsh, the Wall, Stockwell, and the Dean's precinct. It is remarkable, that at Lambeth Wall is a spot of ground, containing an acre and nineteen poles, named Pedlar's acre, which has belonged to the parish from time immemorial, and is said to have been given by a pedlar, upon condition that his picture, with that of his dog, be perpetually preserved in painted glass in one of the windows of the church; which the parishioners carefully performed in the south east window of the middle isle. Maitland.

Lambeth-Palace, Lambeth,—on the N. side of Lambeth-church, by the River-Thames, about ⅓ of a mile above Westminster-bridge.

Lambeth Palace. The palace of the Archbishop of Canterbury is situated on the east side of the Thames at Lambeth, and was originally built by Archbishop Baldwin in 1188. In 1250, Archbishop Boniface rebuilt the whole of the north side, the archiepiscopal apartments, the library, and cloisters, the guard-chambers, the chapel, and the Lollards' Tower. Cardinal Pole built the gate, and Chichely finished the tower, which, from having been used as a prison for the followers of Wickliffe, who were called Lollards, received the name. The spacious hall was began by Archbishop Sancroft and finished by Archbishop Tillotson. It is now undergoing a substantial repair, or rather restoration, at the expense of the present Archbishop (Howley), and under the superintendence of Mr. Blore.

In this palace is a fine library, founded in 1610 by Archbishop Sancroft, who left by will all his books for the use of the successors. It has been greatly augmented by successive prelates. There are also portraits of all the Archbishops from Laud to the present time.

Lambeth Palace, the palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury from a very early period.

Lambeth envy of each bond and gown.—Pope.

It was usually called Lambeth House until the beginning of the present century. Archbishop Hubert Fitzwalter exchanged the manor of Darente (Dartford), Kent, in 1197, with Gilbert de Glanvill, Bishop of Rochester, for the manor and advowson of Lambeth.¹ A grant of land had aheady been obtained by a former archbishop for the purpose of founding here a college of secular canons, and a chapel and other buildings had been erected, which Archbishop Hubert proposed to complete; but the project being strongly opposed by the monks of Christchurch, who appealed to the Pope, Hubert was compelled to desist. The buildings were pulled down and Hubert converted the manor house into a residence for the archbishops, as it has continued to be ever since. Of the original building, however, nothing remains. The present palace is the growth of many centuries. The Chapel, the oldest part, was built by Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury (1244–1270). It is 72 feet long, 25 wide, and 40 feet high, and is divided into four bays. It is Early English, with, at the east end, five lancet windows and three triplets on each side; beneath is a crypt. The roof is modern. There is an oak screen with the arms of Archbishop Laud, by whom it was erected. Before the altar is the grave of Archbishop Parker (d. 1575). The statement, constantly repeated, that in this chapel all the archbishops have been consecrated since the time of Boniface, is erroneous. Morton (afterwards Cardinal) was the first archbishop consecrated (1486) in this chapel. Subsequently such consecrations were frequent, though not constant; and from the time of Cranmer till far into that of Sumner, the bishops of the province as well as the archbishops were consecrated here.² The windows referred to in the following extracts were destroyed in the Civil Wars, but have been again (1877–1880) filled with painted glass by Messrs. Clayton and Bell, "through the liberality of Archbishop Tait, and his family and fiiends," the intention being to reproduce the original subjects as described by Laud.³

The windows contain the whole story from the Creation to the Day of Judgment: three lights in a window; the two side lights contain the types in the Old Testament, and the middle light the Anti-type and Verity of Christ in the New.—Troubles and Trial of Archbishop Laud, fol. 1695, p. 311.

The first thing the Commons have in their evidence chaiged against me, is the setting up and repairing Popish images and pictures in the glass windows of my chapel at Lambeth, and amongst others the picture of Christ hanging on the cross between the two thieves in the East window; of God the Father in the form of a little old man, with a glory, striking Miriam with a leprosy; of the Holy Ghost descending in the form of a dove; and of Christ's Nativity, Last Supper, Resurrection, Ascension, and others; the pattern whereof Mr. Prynn attested I took out of the very mass-book, wherein he showed their portraitures. To which I answer first. That I did not set these images up, but found them there before; Secondly, That I did only repair the windows which were so broken, and the chapel which lay so nastily before, that I was ashamed to behold, and could not resort unto it but with some disdain, which caused me to repair it to my great cost; Thirdly, That I made up the history of these old broken pictures not by any pattern in the mass-book, but only by help of the fragments and remainders of them, which I compared with the story.—Trial of Archbishop Laud.

Monday, May 1 [1643]. The Windows of my Chappel at Lambeth were defaced, and the steps to the Communion Table torn up.—Archbishop Laud's Troubles, etc., ed. 1695, p. 203.

The Post Room, so called from the central pillar which supports the roof, abuts from the chapel, and forms a part of the so-called Lollards' Tower at the west end of the chapel, built by Archbishop Chicheley, in the years 1434–1445, a time-worn structure, on the front of which, facing the river, is a niche, in which was placed the image of St Thomas à Becket, "to which the watermen of the Thames doffed their caps as they rode by in their countless barges."⁴ At the top of the tower is a small room (13 feet by 12, and about 8 feet high) called the prison, wainscoted with oak above an inch thick, on which several names and broken sentences in old characters are cut, as "Chessam Doctor," "Petit Iouganham," "Ihs cyppe me out of all el compane, amen," "John Worth," "Nosce Teipsum," etc. The large iron rings in the wall (eight in number) seem to sanction the supposed appropriation of the room. The late learned Dr. Maitland, for many years librarian at Lambeth Palace, protested earnestly against this being called the Lollards' Tower. "I have never," he writes, "found any authority for it. It is true that on the upper storey there is a little room which seems to have been used as a place of confinement, but I do not think I ever met with any reason to suppose that any heretic or martyr had inhabited it ... My own apartments being actually under it, I have over and over examined the cuttings on the wooden sides of that little room without finding anything that savoured of heresy or martyrs. I believe it has been now a good while so called, but I imagine it to be owing to a confusion between it and the Bishop of London's prison, which notoriously went by that name."⁵ [See Lollards' Tower.] Dr. Hook is equally clear that the title is a misnomer. Heretical persons were, he says, imprisoned here, but certainly no Lollards. The prisoners were of a much later period—and notably Episcopalians immured by the Parliamentary Commissioners.⁶ Whether, however, Lollards were confined here or not, there can be no doubt that the archbishops' house at Lambeth was not unfrequently used as a prison. And Wicliffe himself, the Arch-Lollard, underwent an examination before the bishops respecting his opinions in the chapel of Lambeth Palace.⁷ Occasionally political prisoners were remitted here for temporary security. Thus on the night of February 8, 1601, when the Earls of Essex and Southampton had been arrested in Essex House, they were taken to Lambeth Palace in the first instance instead of to the Tower, as it was not deemed prudent to "shoot the bridge" in the then state of the tide and at that late hour; but they were removed there the next day. The Gate House, of red brick, with stone archway, quoins and dressings, was built by Archbishop Morton, Cardinal and Lord Chancellor (d. 1500), and is one of the largest and finest of the early Tudor gatehouses remaining. It comprises a bold gateway and postern with battlemented upper storey flanked by two massive square towers five floors high. A small room adjoining the gateway in the eastern tower, now used as a scullery, was originally a prison, whether subsidiary to that in Chicheley's Tower, or for a different class of prisoners is not known. It is of great strength, the walls in addition to their original thickness being lined with stone. The windows are narrow and high up, and the room is secured by a double door. Fastened to the wall are three strong iron rings, and there are cuttings on the walls similar to those in the other prison. At this gate from the earliest times the archbishops' doles have been given to poor inhabitants of Lambeth.

The Hall, 93 feet by 38, and 50 feet high, was built on the site and of the proportions of the older hall, by Archbishop Juxon, and has over the door his arms and the date 1663. It cost £10,500. Juxon mentions it in his will (September 20, 1662), "And my minde and will is, that if I happen to die before the Hall at Lambeth bee finisht, that my Executor be at the charge of finishing it, according to the Modell made of it, if my successor shall give leave." The roof is of oak, with a louvre or lantern in the centre for the escape of smoke. The whole design is thoroughly Gothic in spirit, whilst the details are Renaissance in fact and feeling. The former hall was destroyed by Colonel Scot, who held Lambeth Palace under the Parliament The bay window in the hall contains some specimens of stained glass; arms of Philip II. of Spain (the husband of Queen Mary); arms of Archbishops Bancroft and Laud and Juxon; early portrait of Archbishop Chicheley. The hall was somewhat altered (1830–1834) by Archbishop Howley to fit it to receive the remarkable collection of manuscripts and printed books which had been accumulated by his predecessors. Tke Library, of about 25,000 volumes, was founded by Archbishop Bancroft, (d. 1610); enriched by Archbishop Abbot (d. 1633); and enlarged by Archbishops Tenison and Seeker. It is rich in manuscripts, letters, and other documents of historical interest, illuminated gospels, missals and service books, and rare early printed books. A great curiosity is a MS. of Lord Rivers's translation of The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers, containing an illumination of the earl introducing Caxton, the printer (it is said), to Edward IV., his Queen and Prince. The portrait of the Prince (afterwards Edward V.) is the only one known of him, and has been engraved by Vertue among the Heads of the Kings. Of the English books in the library printed before 1600, there is a very valuable catalogue, and a "List of some of the Early Printed Books," which for its bibliographical notes is even more valuable: both are by Dr. Maitland. Of the manuscripts there is an admirable catalogue commenced by Wharton, and completed and published by Dr. Todd. The first librarian of Lambeth Palace was the learned Henry Wharton, and among his successors have been Edmund Gibson, the editor of Camden's Britannia, author of the Codex Juris Ecclesiastici Anglicani, and Bishop of London; Henry John Todd, the editor of Johnson's Dictionary; and Samuel Roffy Maitland, author of Essays of the Dark Ages and the Catalogues above referred to. The library is open to students, or for purposes of special inquiry.

The whole of that part of the palace which forms the residence of the archbishops was erected (1829–1834) by Archbishop Howley, from the designs of Mr. Edward Blore, at a cost of about £70,000, of which the greater part was defrayed by the archbishop out of his private funds. It lies to the north of the great quadrangle, in which are the old buildings, is of Bath stone, and presents a stately appearance. The west or principal front is 160 feet long, the main entrance being flanked by two octagonal towers. The rooms are spacious and well proportioned; the archbishop's sitting-room and private library is 44 feet by 26, with a good bay window at the end overlooking the Thames. The drawing-room, 47 feet by 25 feet, is lit by a spacious oriel. The Guard Chamber, 58 feet by 27 feet, was built or restored by Archbishop Morton, but rebuilt by Blore for Archbishop Howley; the open timber roof is that of the old Guard Chamber. In this room, which serves as the state dining-room, are hung the portraits (half or three-quarter lengths) of the archbishops since the Reformation. Other portraits are in the adjacent picture gallery. Observe.—Archbishop Warham (d. 1532), by Holbein, dated and genuine, one of three, and, as is believed, the original. It belonged to Archbishop Parker (d. 1575), and in the inventory of his goods is appraised at £5.⁸ The portrait of Archbishop Arundel, opposite to it, is a copy of that at Penshurst. Over the door is a good portrait of Archbishop Abbot. Laud, by Vandyck, a very fine picture. On the right and left of the great fireplace—a noticeable feature of the room—are Archbishops Potter by Hudson, and Herring by Hogarth. The complexion of Archbishop Seeker, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, has faded, else the picture is in good preservation. Archbishop Tillotson, by Mrs. Beale. Tillotson (d. 1694) was the first prelate who wore a wig; his was not unlike the natural hair, and worn without powder. Archbishop Wake, by Isaac Whood. Wake, who died in 1737, was the last archbishop who went to Parliament by water. The archbishop's barge was a stately part of his equipage when the Thames was the ordinary highway. The Grand Duke Cosmo describes it as a "boat of noble shape, and ornamented with the ensign of the archbishop's dignity, always on the river, in which he can at any moment cross over to Whitehall."⁹ Archbishop Howley, by Pickersgill, said to be an excellent likeness. Others will be noticed for the prelates represented, if not for their value as paintings, of Chicheley, Cranmer, Parker, Juxon, Sheldon, Sancroft, Cornwallis, by Dance, and Manners Sutton, by Sir William Beechey.

We have two contemporary notices of Latimer in the pleasant grounds of Lambeth Palace, one by Sir Thomas More, the other by Latimer himself. On April 13, 1534, Sir Thomas More wrote to his daughter—

I tarried in the old burned chamber that looketh into the garden, and would not go down because of the heat. In that time saw I Master Doctor Latimer come into the garden, and there walked he with divers other doctors and chaplains of my Lord of Canterbury. And very merry I saw him; for he laughed, and took one or other about the neck so handsomely that if they had been women I would have weened he had been waxen wanton.
     I trouble my Lord of Canterbury; and being at his house now and then, I walk in the garden looking in my book, as I can do but little good at it. But something I must needs do to satisfy this place. I am no sooner in the garden and have read awhile, but by and by cometh there some one or other knocking at the gate. Anon cometh my man and saith, "Sir, there is one at the gate would speak with you."—Latimer to Edward VI., Sermon 2, p. 127.

Here is an entry showing how observances were changing at Lambeth in Reformation days:

1547.—This year the Archbishop of Canterbury did eat meat openly in Lent, in the Hail of Lambeth, the like of which was never seen since England was a Christian country.—MS. Diary, quoted by Froude, vol. v. p. 34.

When I first went to Lambeth [on his translation from London] my Coach, Horses, and Men sunk to the bottom of the Thames in the Ferry-Boat which was over-laden, but, I praise God for it, I lost neither Man nor Horse.&mdshLaud's Diary.

November 15, 1635, Sunday.—At afternoon the greatest Tide that hath been seen. It came within my gates, walks, cloysters, and stables at Lambeth.—Land's Diary.

At Lambeth mye house was beset at midnight. May ii., with 500 people that came thither with a drumme beatinge before them. I had some little notice of it about 2 hours before, and went to White Hall leavinge mye house as well ordered as I could with such armes and men as I could gett readye. And I thanke God, bye his goodness, kept all safe. Some were taken and to be tried for their lives.—Laud to Lord Conway, May 25, 1640 (Gentleman's Magazine, April 1850, p. 349).

November 24, 1642.—The Souldiers at Lambeth House broke open the Chappel door: and offered violence to the Organ; but before much hurt was done, the captains heard of it and stayed them.—Laud's Diary.

July 22, 1665.—The Duke of Albemarle being gone to dinner to my Lord of Canterbury's, I thither, and there walked and viewed the new Hall, a new old-fashioned hall, as much as possible; begun, and means left for the ending of it, by Bishop Juxon.—Pepys.

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¹ Nichols's Hist. of Lambeth, Appendix.
² Hook's Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury.
³ Quarterly Review, July 1878, p. 140.
⁴ Dean Stanley's Memorials of Canterbury.
⁵ MS. communication from Dr. Maitland.
⁶ Hook, Archbishops of Canterbury.
⁷ Fox, vol. iii. p. 12.
⁸ Archæologia, vol. xxx. p. l0.
⁹ Travels, p. 320.