Croydon Palace
Encyclopedia
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, now part of south London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, was the summer residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
for over 500 years. Regular visitors included Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
and Queen Elizabeth I. Now known as 'Old Palace', the buildings are still in use as the Old Palace School
Old Palace School
The Old Palace of John Whitgift School is an independent school for girls in Surrey, England, founded in 1889. The "Old Palace" itself was for 500 years the summer residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury.In the 19th century the Archbishops ended their residence at Croydon Palace and used...
, an independent girls' school of the Whitgift Foundation
Whitgift Foundation
The Whitgift Foundation is a charity based in Croydon, South London, England, established in 1596 by John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, who lived at Croydon Palace. The purpose of the charity is to provide education for the young and care for the elderly...
.
The Manor of Croydon was connected with the Archbishop of Canterbury from at least the late Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
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
John Stafford (archbishop)
John Stafford was an English statesman and Archbishop of Canterbury.-Life:Stafford was the illegitimate son of a Wiltshire squire, which meant that he had to get the Pope's permission to become a clergyman...
(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
William Laud
William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism...
and Juxon
William Juxon
William Juxon was an English churchman, Bishop of London from 1633 to 1649 and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1660 until his death.-Life:...
, 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
Thomas Arundel
Thomas Arundel was Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, an outspoken opponent of the Lollards.-Family background:...
(Archbishop 1396–1414), and has an arch-braced roof with carved stone supports and an oriel window
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...
. 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 architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
sash windows.
The connection of the Archbishops with Croydon was of great importance, with several being important local benefactors. Six are buried in Croydon Minster, neighbouring the Palace: John Whitgift
John Whitgift
John Whitgift 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 800 horsemen...
, Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal was an English church leader who successively held the posts of Bishop of London, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I of England.-Early life to the death of Edward VI:...
, Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon was an English Archbishop of Canterbury.-Early life:He was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 July 1598, the youngest son of Roger Sheldon; his father worked for Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford; he...
, William Wake
William Wake
William Wake was a priest in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 until his death in 1737.-Life:...
, John Potter and Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring
Thomas Herring was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757.He was educated at Wisbech Grammar School and later Jesus College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he was a contemporary of Matthew Hutton, who succeeded him in turn in each of his dioceses...
. Archbishop Whitgift, who first called it a "palace
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 itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
", liked Croydon for "the sweetness of the place", though not all admired it, in the low-lying site which Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
found "rheumatick", a place where he could not stay "without sickness". Sir Francis Bacon found it "an obscure and darke place" surrounded by its dense woodland.
By the late 18th century, the Palace had become dilapidated and uncomfortable and the local area was squalid. An Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
enabled Croydon Palace to be sold and Addington Palace
Addington Palace
Addington Palace is an 18th century mansion in Addington near Croydon, South London, England.-History:The original manor house called 'Addington Place' was built about the 16th century....
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.