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Croydon Palace, in
Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
, now part of south
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, was the summer residence of the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
for over 500 years. Regular visitors included Henry III and
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
. Now known as "Old Palace", the buildings are still in use as the
Old Palace School The Old Palace of John Whitgift School is a selective independent school for girls in Croydon, London. The Old Palace is protected as a Grade I listed building. It consists of a pre-school for the ages of 3-4, a preparatory department for the ag ...
, an independent girls' school of the
Whitgift Foundation The Whitgift Foundation is a charity based in Croydon, South London, England. The purpose of the charity is to provide education for the young and care for the elderly. The main activities of the charity are the operation of three independent s ...
.


History

The Manor of Croydon was connected with the Archbishop of Canterbury from at least the late
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
period, and records of buildings date back to before 960. The Palace as it now exists is a group of largely 15th and 16th century buildings, "an aggregate of buildings of different castes and ages", as Archbishop Herring found it in 1754. The 15th-century Great Hall is thought to have been installed by Archbishop Stafford (d. 1452), with a late-14th-century two-storey porch and a vaulted ceiling to the lower chamber. The hall interior has a rich 16th-century timber roof and windows with interesting features such as the late Gothic interior porch. The Great Hall was partially remodelled in the 17th century by archbishops Laud and Juxon, who also rebuilt the chapel. West of the Hall are the state apartments including the first-floor Guard Room, now the school library. The room is ascribed to Archbishop Arundel (Archbishop 1396–1414), and has an arch-braced roof with carved stone supports and an
oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found pro ...
. Other rooms have later panelling and fireplaces. The chapel has fine 17th-century stalls and an elaborate corner gallery. The fine altar rails are now in the Guard Room. The exterior of the whole palace is of stone or red brick, with early stone windows or
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
sash windows A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History T ...
. The connection of the Archbishops with Croydon was of great importance, with several being important local benefactors. Six are buried in
Croydon Minster Croydon Minster is the parish and civic church of the London Borough of Croydon. There are currently more than 35 churches in the borough, with Croydon Minster being the most prominent. It is Grade I and II* listed buildings in Croydon, Grade I l ...
, neighbouring the Palace: in date order they were
Edmund Grindal Edmund Grindal ( 15196 July 1583) was Bishop of London, Archbishop of York, and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I. Though born far from the centres of political and religious power, he had risen rapidly in the church durin ...
,
John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...
,
Gilbert Sheldon Gilbert Sheldon (19 June 1598 – 9 November 1677) was an English religious leader who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death. Early life Sheldon was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 ...
,
William Wake William Wake (26 January 165724 January 1737) was a priest in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 until his death in 1737. Life Wake was born in Blandford Forum, Dorset, and educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He took ...
, John Potter and
Thomas Herring Thomas Herring (169323 March 1757) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757. Early life and education He was the son of John Herring, rector of Walsoken in Norfolk, who had previously been vicar of Foxton, near Cambridge, and his wife, ...
. Archbishop Whitgift, who first called it a "
palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
", liked Croydon for "the sweetness of the place", though not all admired it, in the low-lying site which
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
found "rheumatick", a place where he could not stay "without sickness".
Sir Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both n ...
found it "an obscure and darke place" surrounded by its dense woodland.Quotes in Nicholl 1984, p. 136; in the Great Hall at Croydon Nashe's
masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...
''
Summer's Last Will and Testament ''Summer's Last Will and Testament'' is an Elizabethan stage play, a comedy written by Thomas Nashe. The play is notable for breaking new ground in the development of English Renaissance drama: "No earlier English comedy has anything like the ...
'' was performed, in October 1592.
By the late 18th century, the Palace had become dilapidated and uncomfortable and the local area was squalid. An
Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
enabled Croydon Palace to be sold and
Addington Palace Addington Palace is an 18th-century mansion in Addington located within the London Borough of Croydon. It was built on the site of a 16th-century manor house. It is particularly known for having been, between 1807 and 1897, the summer resid ...
on the outskirts of Croydon to be bought in 1807. This became the new episcopal summer residence for much of the rest of the 19th century.


Legacy

The historic connection between Croydon and the archbishops is recognised in the modern
coat of arms of the London Borough of Croydon The coat of arms of the London Borough of Croydon is the official heraldic arms of the London Borough of Croydon, granted on 10 December 1965. The borough was created by uniting the County Borough of Croydon (granted arms in 1886) and the Coulsd ...
. Several streets in Croydon are named after the archbishops, including Whitgift Street, Grindall Close, Sheldon Street, Laud Street, Cranmer Road and Parker Road.


Notes


Further reading

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External links


Friends of Old Palace
{{coord, 51, 22, 21.94, N, 00, 06, 17.89, W, type:landmark_scale:3000, display=title Episcopal palaces of archbishops of Canterbury Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Croydon History of the London Borough of Croydon Grade I listed palaces Houses in the London Borough of Croydon