Lambeth Palace Library
The palace is now also home to Lambeth Palace Library, the official library of the Archbishop of Canterbury and principal holder of records for the history of the Church of England, founded as a public library by archbishop Richard Bancroft in 1610. This contains a vast collection of material relating to ecclesiastical history, including archbishops' and bishops' archives and papers relating to various Anglican missionary and charitable societies. The valuable collection of original manuscripts contains important material, some dating as far back as the 9th century. The various other collections contain material on an immense variety of topics from the history of art and architecture to colonial and Commonwealth history, and innumerable aspects of English social, political and economic history. The library is also a significant resource for local history and genealogy.
The library contains over 120,000 books as well as the archives of the Archbishops of Canterbury and other church bodies dating back to the 12th century. These can be found via the online catalogs (linked below). Highlights include a Gutenberg Bible and the Romanesque Lambeth Bible, with other notable manuscripts including the following:
- Lambeth Choirbook
- Lambeth Homilies
- Mac Durnan Gospels
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Famous quotes containing the words palace and/or library:
“How the Chimney-sweepers cry
Every blackning Church appalls,
And the hapless Soldiers sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls”
—William Blake (1757–1827)
“To a historian libraries are food, shelter, and even muse. They are of two kinds: the library of published material, books, pamphlets, periodicals, and the archive of unpublished papers and documents.”
—Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989)