SE1 The Lambeth Palace

Hello people,

Today I have come to SE1 to visit Lambeth Palace, the London residency of the Archbishop of Canterbury.  I had always assumed that the Archbishop of Canterbury lived in Lambeth because the further he got from Canterbury the stronger his religious powers became, similar to Superman and his home planet Krypton. Now I know that is not the case.

Lambeth Palace

The very first Archbishop of Canterbury was a Roman Catholic called St Augustine. He was sent here by Pope Gregory the Great to Christianise Britain in 595. After successfully converting south east England, he struggled with the people of London. His reasons for this can be found in his letters to the Pope, in which he complained about London’s ‘ridiculous house prices’, and that he and his men found ‘commuting in to be real a pain in the arse.’ He ended his correspondence to P Grego the G (which was St Augustine’s pet nickname for Pope Gregory the Great) by stating that although he was, and always would be the Pope's and Rome’s faithful servant, he found the whole conversion of the Britons to be ‘a bit of a faff.’

Pope Gregory was furious. He hated being called P Grego the G, and really wanted to expand his franchise into the UK. But Pope Gregory was also mindful of the fact the St Augustine was already a Saint, and he was just a Pope, so he decided not to rock the boat.  So Canterbury in Kent is where St Augustine stayed, and we’ve had an Archbishop of Canterbury, be he Roman Catholic or Anglican, ever since.

One of the interesting things about Lambeth Palace, and there are many, is that there is no one Lambeth Palace - it’s made up of a number of buildings. The first was built in the 13th century for Archbishop Stephen Langton. Langton needed a London base as he was helping draw up a contract of peace between King John of England and some powerful Land Barons he’d wound up. That contract by the way was the Magna Carter - the first ever document designed to protect the rights of the people against the English Monarchy - so well done Stephen.

Lambeth Palace

All of the Archbishops of Canterbury that have followed Stephen Langton have resided in his London house, adding buildings, extensions, and making alterations. The last major work to the Palace was the addition of a residential wing in 1833, after which the reigning monarch Queen Victoria must have decided that enough of her and her ancestors' dough had been spent pimping the place up. These days the best house warming gift a new Archbishop of Canterbury can hope for is a pot plant, some IKEA vouchers, and a welcome mat if his King or Queen is feeling particular flush.

The thing I like best about the Lambeth Palace is that it’s more than a monument to the institutions of the past. It was, and still is, a home. And there are little stories of the past archbishops who lived there everywhere. Take for example the last Catholic Archbishop Cardinal Pole. He had been in exile from England after speaking out against King Henry VIII for divorcing Catherine of Aragon. After Henry’s death he returned, and bought a fig tree back with him, which he planted in the courtyard, and remains there to this day. 

Cardinal Pole's Fig Tree

Or the story of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury 1559-1575, he earned the nick name 'Nosey' from his endless curiosity about church affairs, and his love of religious literature, and that's where the phrase 'Nosey Parker' comes from. Nosey was the first Archbishop to marry. According to Wikipedia (best History book ever by the way) Queen Elizabeth did not approve of Nosey's wife and was openly rude to her, but in a really posh and snooty way. After one visit to Lambeth, the Queen is said to have asked how she should address her, "Madam I may not call you; mistress I am ashamed to call you; and so I know not what to call you." What a bitch.

I could tell you a hundred stories like this but I recommend you hear them from the professionals, like I did. We got our tour from Beryl*,and she has spent years studying the Lambeth Palace, and is a master story teller. Tours of the Lambeth Palace are given every Thursday and Friday, which you can book online.
http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/pages/visit-lambeth-palace.html

But that's enough from me, so till next week, ta la.

Beryl - a great tour guide

*Beyrl's facts on Lambeth Palace may differ from mine slightly, especially the whole P Greggo the G bit.