Lambeth Palace

the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in the parish and parliamentary borough of Lambeth, on the south side of the Thames, about a mile and a half southwest of St. Paul's. It lies up stream and across the Thames from Westminster Abbey. Lambeth was acquired by the archbishop in 1197. The present palace was begun soon after. It contains a fine library of 30,000 volumes, including the official records of the archbishop in forty volumes. The Lollards' Tower is a massive square keep. A room known as the prison, situated in a staircase turret, still contains wall inscriptions written by prisoners. Imprisoned heretics were chained, so tradition runs, to eight large iron rings yet hanging form the walls. The general chamber, sixty feet long, contains a series of oil portraits of the archbishops. The Hall, ninety-two feet by forty, has witnessed ecclesiastical meetings of importance. The chapel is the room where Archbishop Laud, immediately after his appointment, gave offense by restoring the communion table to its historic but prelatic position at the east end. Steps lead down to the Thames, long the historic thoroughfare between Lambeth Palace and Westminster, the Tower, and the city.