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 arcade (architecture)#shopping arcades, shopping arcade or shopping mall ** A Pedestrian zone Places * A neighborhood, in Australia * A unit of public ...

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

. It is the main residence of the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

when in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

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 Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...

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

Stephen Langton Stephen Langton (c. 1150 – 9 July 1228) was an English Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1207 until his death in 1228. The dispute between list of English kings, King John of E ...

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 or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, 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 Clergy, churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early ...

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 Vault (architecture), vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area whi ...

of the monastic

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

. 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 in ...

, a

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led b ...

who (as 'Bishop in Canterbury') carries out most parts of the role of the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury.

Status

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

References

External links

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