The Great Hall of the Archbishop's Palace, Canterbury

The Old Palace, also referred to as the Archbishop's Palace, is a historic building situated within the

precincts Precinct may refer to: * An electoral precinct * A police precinct * A religious precinct * A shopping precinct or shopping mall ** A Pedestrian zone Places * A neighborhood, in Australia * A unit of public housing in Singapore * A former elec ...

of Canterbury Cathedral. It is the main residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury when in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

Background

Built within the grounds of the Cathedral, probably by Lanfranc in the 11th century, the Old Palace was the residence of the Archbishop when he visited Canterbury. The palace was rebuilt between 1193 and 1228. The Great Hall, the second largest medieval great hall in Britain after

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

, was constructed c 1200-1220 by Archbishops Hubert Walter and

Stephen Langton Stephen Langton (c. 1150 – 9 July 1228) was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Canterbury between 1207 and his death in 1228. The dispute between King John of England and Pope Innocent III over his ...

and demolished in the 1650s. In 1982, a large trench was excavated on the site of the Great Hall. In 1647, during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, the palace was taken over by Parliament along with its estates. Most of the major buildings of the Palace were demolished in the 1650s. It stayed empty until the 19th century.

Restoration

In 1896, the Old Palace was restored by W. D. Caröe. Archbishop

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early life ...

was the first archbishop to live there since 1647. A curved building with two to three floors, it incorporates the west end of the

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...

of the monastic

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...

. The south wing contains some traces of old work in the buttresses and a 14th-century two-light window. A 16th-century gateway remains but is now blocked. It has undergone many modifications and adjustments over the years, and reopened in 2006 after a two-year refurbishment.

Current use

In addition to being the official residence of the Archbishop when in Canterbury, part of the building is also the home of the

Bishop of Dover The Bishop of Dover is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dover in Kent. The Bishop of Dover holds the additional title of "Bishop i ...

who is a suffragan bishop in the

Diocese of Canterbury The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering East Kent, eastern Kent which was founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest episcopal see, see of the Church o ...

Status

The palace became a Grade I listed building on 3 May 1967.

References

External links

Geographic coordinates The geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a spherical or ellipsoidal coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on the Earth as latitude and longitude. It is the simplest, oldest and most widely used of the various ...