Courtesy of Wikipedia. Lambeth Palace, London, England: across the River Thames from the north side. Taken by Tagishsimon, 24th April 2004.
Largely overlooked by tourists due to its location south of Vauxhall Bridge, this Tudor Palace has been the official London home of The Archbishop of Canterbury for well over 800 years.
It was way back in 1200 AD, when the Diocese decided they needed a base in London because Canterbury, the Archbishop’s main residence, was too far removed from the day-to-day goings on in the capital.
Lambeth, despite its low lying and marshy position south of the river, was considered the ideal place, as its position opposite the Palace of Westminster on the north bank allowed the archbishop to keep an eye on what was happening at the Royal Palace without being part of the Westminster clique.
Over the years it was built and rebuilt so much so, that the buildings all date from different periods with the front facing red brick Tudor gatehouse (reminiscent of Hampton Court) built in 1495.
Though away from the main hubbub, the palace didn’t entirely escape some of the dramatic events that affected the capital. In 1381 it was attacked during the Peasants revolt (the archbishop at the time not exactly a popular figure amongst the masses) and during the English Civil War the Great Hall was ransacked and destroyed by Oliver Cromwell’s troops.
The archbishops also had an interesting side-line.
Before 1750, there was only one bridge in London and that was the old London Bridge much further downstream. The only other way to get across the river with a horse or horse and carriage, was to use a horse ferry and the most well-known of London’s horse ferries was at Lambeth. This lucrative trade was carried out by a ferry boat, a heavy raft strong enough to take several horses and carriages which was ‘punted’ across the river by watermen using long poles to propel the ferry along.
The tolls and rights of passage at Lambeth Horseferry belonged to the Archbishop of Canterbury who derived a considerable income from it. In fact, when Westminster bridge opened in 1750 (rendering the horse ferry obsolete) Lambeth Palace was awarded £2205 as compensation.
Today the Palace still carries out its original function, but tours of the building can be arranged. What also might be of interest is the Garden Museum next door which explores the art, history and design of gardens and gardening.