LAMBETH, a parish in the eastern division of the
hundred of BRIXTON, county of SURREY, separated
from Westminster by the river Thames, comprising the
hamlecs of Brixton, Kennington, Stockwell, Vauxhall,
a part of Norwood, and the extra-parochial liberty
of Lambeth palace, and containing 57,638 inhabitants,
according to the census of 1821, since which period
the population has nearly doubled. The name of this
place, in the earliest records written Lambehith, and
in Domesday-book Lanchei, is variously written by
the ancient historians, and, according to Camden, denotes
a muddy station, or harbour j by other antiquaries
it is  supposed to have been originally Lamb's Hithe,
and to have denoted a haven belonging to some ancient
proprietor of that name. Canute, on his invasion
of London, in 1026, is said to have cut a trench through
this parish, in order to convey his fleet to the west of
London bridge, of which Maitland, in his History of
London, affirms that he discovered evident traces; but
the origin of these trenches is by other historians attributed,
with greater probability, to a temporary diversion
of the course of the river, for the erection of London
bridge. At the end of Kennington-lane there were, till
very lately, the remains of a horn-work, forming part
of the lines of communication made, by order of parliaament,
round the metropolis, for its greater security
during the parliamentary war. The manor of Lambeth
was given by Goda, sister of Edward the Confessor, to
the see of Rochester, one of whose bishops, Gilbert de
Glanvillc, finding the buildings of his see greatly dilapidated,
erected at Lambeth, in 1197, a mansion for
himself and his successors, which, being afterwards
exchanged for other lands with Hubert Walter, Archbishop
of Canterbury, became the archiepiscopal residence.
Archbishop Boniface having obtained from Pope
Urban IV. the grant of a fourth part of the offerings at
Becket's shrine, and permission to rebuild his house at
Lambeth, laid the foundation of the present palace,
which has been at various times enlarged and improved
by his successors. Many of the metropolitan councils
were held in the chapel of the palace while it belonged
to the see of Rochester; in 1100, Archbishop Anselm convened
an assembly to take into consideration the propriety
of the marriage of Henry I. with Maud, daughter of the
King of Scotland, who had taken the veil, though not
the vows, as a nun. After the exchange, a council was
held here by Archbishop Peckham, at which a subsidy of
one-fifteenth was granted by the clergy for three years;
and, in 1282, the same prelate convoked a synod, at
which all the bishops of the realm assisted, to deliberate
upon the state of the church of England, of which
complaints had been made at Rome by the Bishop of
Hereford. In 1381, the followers of Wat Tyler, after
having barbarously put Archbishop Sudbury to death,
attacked the palace, burnt the furniture and books,
and destroyed all the registers and public papers.
Henry VII. was, for some days previous to his coronation,
sumptuously entertained in the palace by Archbishop
Bourchier; and Catherine of Arragon, on her
first arrival in England, remained there with her attendants
for some days prior to her marriage. The palace
was completely furnished by Queen Mary, for the reception
of Cardinal Pole, whom she occasionally visited
during his primacy; and Queen Elizabeth, during the
time of Archbishops Parker and Whitgift, was a frequent
guest at Lambeth, where she sometimes remained
for several days. Prior to the Reformation, the archbishops
had a prison in the palace, for the confinement
of offenders against the ecclesiastical laws, and Elizabeth
frequently made it a place of liberal confinement
for persons who had fallen under her displeasure;
to this place she committed the Catholic bishops,
Tunstall and Thirlby; the Earl of Essex, previously
to his being sent to the Tower; the Earl of Southampton,
Lord Stourton, Henry Howard, brother of the
Duke of Norfolk, and various other persons. In 1641,
Archbishop Laud was attacked by a puritanical mob of
five hundred persons, who assailed the palace at midnight;
but having received intimation of their design,
he had so fortified it as to preclude their doing further
injury than breaking the windows.
After the impeachment of Archbishop Laud, an ordinance
was issued by the House of Commons, for removing
the arms from Lambeth palace, which was carried into
effect by Captain Royden, at the head of two hundred
infantry and a troop of horse; and in the November following,
Captain Brown entered to take possession of the
palace for the parliament. It was afterwards converted
into a prison by the House of Commons, and among the
prisoners confined there, were the Earls of Chesterfield
and Derby 5 Sir Thomas Armstrong, who was afterwards
executed at Kennington for having taken part in Monmouth's
rebellion; Sir George Bunkley, and some others.
The palace being afterwards put up for sale, was purchased
by Thomas Scot and Matthew Hardy, the former
of whom, secretary to Cromwell, sat in judgment at the
trial of Charles I., and was afterwards hanged as a regicide
at Charing- Cross. After the Restoration, Lambeth
palace again reverted to its rightful owners, and became
the residence of the archbishops. During the riots occasioned
by the assembling of the Protestant Association
in 1780, under an impression that Archbishop Cornwallis
was a favourer of the Roman Catholics, several
hundreds of the mob, which had collected in St. George's
Fields, proceeded to Lambeth, and raising the cry of No
Popery, knocked loudly at the gate of the palace, but
failing to obtain admission, withdrew, threatening to
return in the evening; in the mean time the archbishop,
with his family, retired to the house of Lord Hilsborough,
in the county of Kent, and a detachment of the military
being sent for the defence of the palace, it escaped further
violence. The palace has at various times afforded
an asylum to learned foreigners, whom the intolerant
spirit of their own countrymen had compelled to abandon
their native land; among these were the early reformers,
Martyr and Bucer, the learned Anthonio  de
Dominis, Archbishop of Spalatro, and numerous others.
This venerable pile of building, now undergoing a
very extensive repair, and to which considerable additions
are being made, is situated on the southern
bank of the river Thames, and exhibits in its architecture
the styles of various ages. The principal entrance,
through an arched gateway, flanked by two
square embattled towers of brick, leads into the outer
court, on the right hand of which is the great hall, rebuilt
after the civil war by Archbishop Juxon, and since
converted into a library; it is a lofty structure of brick,
strengthened with buttresses, and ornamented with cornices
and quoins of stone; the interior is lighted byranges
of lofty windows, and by a double lanthern turret rising
from the roof, which is finely arched, and richly ornamented
with carved oak; in the windows are some heraldic
devices in stained glass, and over the fire-places,
at each end, are the arms, richly emblazoned, of Archbishop
Bancroft, the founder of the library, and of Archbishop
Seeker, by whom it was augmented. Beyond the
library is the chapel, which is by far the most ancient
part of the building; it is in the earliest style of English
architecture, lighted on the sides by triple lancetshaped
windows, and by an east window of five lights.
The ancient painted glass, containing a series of subjects
from the Old and the New Testament, the repairing of
which was, on his trial, imputed as a crime to Archbishop
Laud, was afterwards destroyed by the parliamentarian
commissioners: the roof, which is flat and divided into
compartments, is embellished with the arms of that prelate.
A massive oak screen, richly carved, separates a
portion of the western extremity from that part of the
chapel which is fitted up for divine service. Underneath
the chapel is a spacious crypt, the roof of which is finely
groined; and to the west of it is the Lollards  tower, a
lofty square embattled structure of stone, similar to
that of the chapel, and formerly used as a prison. The
guard-room has been taken down, and is at present
being rebuilt for a banquet hall; it is of Portland- stone,
and in the later style of English architecture; the original
oak roof, of similar character to that of the library,
has been carefully preserved, and will form a
prominent and interesting feature in the new edifice.
From the first court, a handsome archway on the right
leads into the area in which the additional buildings
are being erected; these form a fine range, also in the
later style of English architecture, decorated with
turrets, and containing the state apartments, lodgingrooms,
and the various offices requisite for ,the household
establishment; in this part of the building are
several windows of fine proportion, and some oriel
windows of elegant design. The gardens and park,
comprising thirteen acres, are tastefully laid out, and
through the latter is a pleasant carriage road to the palace.
Carlisle house, formerly the residence of the Bishops
of Rochester, and at that time called " La Place,"
was given by Henry VIII. to Aldridge, Bishop of Carlisle,
and, after having been for many years occupied
as a private academy, it has almost disappeared in the
recent improvements of the parish, and, only some
portions of the outer walls are remaining.
Lambeth, originally a detached village, is now in fact
united with Southwark, and may be considered as forming
a suburb of the metropolis. The great road from
London to Portsmouth leads through the parish, by
Vauxhall, and a new road, leading from Waterloo bridge
to Newington, communicates with the preceding, and
with other roads diverging into the counties of Kent,
Sussex, and Hampshire. There are two establishments
for supplying Thames water to this district; the Lambeth
water works, situated in Belvidere road; and the
South London water-works, at Vauxhall bridge. Lambeth
was formerly celebrated for its medicinal well, of
which the memorial is preserved in the name of a public
house called the Fountain; and for its numerous places of
public amusement, the principal of which were Cuper's
gardens, and Spring gardens, now Vauxhall; the former,
belonging to the Earl of Arundel, and constituting part
of the gardens of Arundel house, were, by Mr. Cuper,
the earl's gardener, converted into a place of entertainment,
consisting of music and fire-works; and upon
the demolition of that mansion, in order to form a new
street, became the depository of many of the Arundelian
marbles brought from Italy by that nobleman, and,
from their mutilated and imperfect state, deemed unworthy
of a place in that splendid collection. Among
them were several beautiful, though imperfect, specimens
of sculpture, of which, the best were purchased for the
decoration of their seats, by several persons of distinction.
The latter, as a fashionable place of public entertainment;
has continued, under the highest patronage, to
flourish with increasing splendour and additional attractions;
the beauty of the scenery, the brilliancy of
the illuminations, the rich and varied display of fireworks,
the efficiency and talent of the orchestra, the
gay assemblage of fashionable company, and the excellence
of the numerous arrangements provided for their
accommodation, have given to this scene of splendid
gaiety an irresistible claim to the public patronage. In
this parish are also Astley's amphitheatre, near Westminster
Bridge, and the Coburg theatre, in the Waterloo-
road. Lambeth, extending for a considerable way
on the banks of the river, and connected with the opposite
shore by Waterloo, Westminster, and Vauxhall
bridges, is admirably situated for the carrying on of extensive
works of every kind; and, in addition to what
may be considered as the general trade of the place,
there are, on the largest scale, lime, coal, and timber
wharfs; iron and other foundries; saw-mills; manufactories
for axle-trees, carriages, patent buoys, floorcloth,
Morocco and Spanish leather, pins, varnish, saltpetre,
soap, whiting, and patent shot (of which the
lofty towers form conspicuous objects on the bank of
the river); potteries of stone and earthenware; glass
works; distilleries; ale and beer breweries j vitriol and
other chemical works; vinegar works, and various others:
there is also a very extensive establishment for making
steam-engines and almost every other kind of machinery,
on the largest scale, conducted by Mr. Maudesley;
besides artificial stone works, and numerous other
establishments of various kinds. A weekly market,
and a fair for fifteen days, granted in the reign of
John, have long been discontinued. The parish is within
the jurisdiction of a court of requests held in the borough
of Southwark, for the recovery of debts under
£5, and within the limits of the New Police establishment.
The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Surrey,
and diocese of Winchester, rated in the king's books
at £32. 15. 7., and in the patronage of the Archbishop
of Canterbury. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, adjoining
the palace, and rebuilt in the latter part of the
fourteenth century, is a spacious structure in the early
and decorated styles of English architecture, with some
later insertions, and having a square embattled tower of
freestone, with an octagonal turret at one of the angles.
The interior comprises the chapels of the Howard
and Leigh families, subsequently erected, and contains
numerous ancient and interesting records; in one of
the windows of the nave is the figure of a pedlar with
his dog, painted in glass, supposed to be the rebus of a
person named Chapman, who is thought to have given
a piece of land to the parish, which is called Pedlar's
Acre, formerly producing two shillings and sixpence
per annum, now more than £200. Among the interments
are those of Archbishops Bancroft, Seeker,
Tenison, Hutton, and Cornwallis; of Tunstall, Bishop
of Durham; Thirlby, Bishop of Ely; and other distinguished
prelates; several of the Howards, and other
illustrious families, together with a curious monument
of Col. Robert Scot, and one of Elias Ashmole, who presented
to the University of Oxford the museum which is
distinguished by his name. Among the numerous tombs
in the church-yard are those of William Faden, the
original printer of the Public Ledger; and John Tradescant,
the original collector of the Ashmolean Museum.
The burial-ground in High-street was consecrated in
1705. Four new district churches have been erected in
this parish by aid of the parliamentary commissioners, who
granted one moiety of the cost, and a loan of the other
moiety to be repaid by a rate on the inhabitants; all of
them were completed in 1824. St. John's, in the Waterlooroad,
containing two thousand and thirty-two sittings, of
which eight hundred and fifty-one are free, and built at an
expense of £ 15,911. 16.7., is a handsome structure in the
Grecian style of architecture, with a tower of two stages,
of which the upper is surmounted by a neat spire, terminating
in a ball and cross, and having a fine portico of
six columns of the Doric order supporting an entablature
and triangular pediment. St. Mark's at Kennington,
St. Matthew's at Brixton-Causeway, and St. Luke's at
Norwood, are described in the accounts of these places:
the livings are all district incumbencies, in the patronage
of the Rector of Lambeth. St. Mary's chapel, at
Lambeth Butts, erected in 1828, also by grant from
the parliamentary commissioners, at an expense of
£7634. 10. 4., and containing one thousand nine hundred
and sixty sittings, of which one thousand three
hundred and forty-seven are free, is a neat edifice in the
later style of English architecture, with a campanile
turret surmounted by a spire; it is a chapel of ease to
the rectory, as is also the chapel at Stockwell. St.
Mark's, Kennington lane, St. Matthew's, Denmark Hill,
and the chapel at South Lambeth, are proprietary Episcopal
chapels. There are places of worship for Baptists,
Independents, Wesleyan and Welch Methodists, and Swedenborgians.
A parochial school for boys was established by subscription,
in the early part of the last century, and is
supported by the same means, together with a fund of
nearly £1200 in the three per cents.: the school-room
has been neatly rebuilt, on ground belonging to the see
of Canterbury, and let by the archbishop, at a peppercorn
rent: there are about four hundred scholars in
this institution, of whom, from thirty to forty are
clothed annually, and several apprenticed. A parochial
school for girls was established in 1780; it is supported
by subscriptions, from the savings of which, and some
donations, it has realised a fund of £400 in the three
per cents.: there are two hundred girls in the school, of
whom, forty are clothed. Archbishop Tenison, in 1715,
founded a school which he endowed with a house and
land, for the clothing and instruction of twelve girls;
the endowment, augmented with subsequent benefactions,
produces about £350 per annum: the schoolroom
has been rebuilt upon an extensive scale, and the
number of girls (each of whom, on producing a certificate
of good conduct during a service of three years,
receives a small gratuity,) has been increased. Richard
Lawrence, in 1661, gave two houses, with ground attached
to them, in trust, for the clothing and instruction
of twenty children of Lambeth Marsh, in one of
which the school was formerly held, but becoming
dilapidated, it was removed to a neat and commodious
building, erected, in 1808, in the York road, by subscription;
in which the children, for whose benefit the
original endowment, producing £100 per annum, is appropriated,
are instructed, in common with the children
of the parish. St. John's school, in the Waterloo road,
was rebuilt by subscription, at an expense of £2200,
to which his late Majesty George IV. gave £100.
The Eldon school, on the road to Wandsworth, was
instituted, in 1830, for the instruction of the children
of the parishes of Lambeth, Battersea, and Clapham,
in the National religion, and for the training of young
men to act as teachers on the National system; the
children, on leaving school, are placed out apprentices;
the building, which is in the later style of English
architecture, was erected in commemoration of Lord
Chancellor Eldon, at the sole expense of Charles Francis,
Esq., by whom the school is supported. The Licensed
Victuallers  school, in Kennington-lane in this parish,
was established for the maintenance, clothing, and education,
of children of deceased and indigent members of
that society: the buildings are neat and commodious,
and the regulations, both of the house and the school, in
which there are at present eighty-nine boys, and eightynine
girls, are well adapted to secure the important objects
for which it was established. The asylum for female
orphans, and for the reception of deserted females, the
settlement of whose parents cannot be found, was first
instituted in 1J58, and incorporated in 1800: it is under
the patronage of Her Royal Highness theDuchess of Cambridge,
and the direction of a general committee (of which
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge1 is president),
and of a ladies  committee: there are one hundred and forty
children in the school, who are maintained, clothed, and
taught reading, writing, and arithmetic; they are also
instructed in plain needle-work, and in household business
of every kind requisite to qualify them for being
useful servants: at fourteen years of, age they are apprenticed
for seven years, as servants in respectable
families; and, on -the completion of that term, receive
from the institution a gratuity of £5. 5., and a testimonial
of good conduct. The buildings occupy three
sides of a quadrangle; in the central range is a handsome
chapel, with a portico of Corinthian columns supporting
an entablature and triangular pediment, surmounted
by a cupola, in which divine service is performed
every Sunday, in the morning and evening;
two morning preachers and one evening preacher are
appointed by the general court, and also a chaplain,
who reads the prayers, and instructs the children in
their religious duties. The general lying-in hospital, for
the reception of patients from all parts of the kingdom,
and for the delivery of out-patients at their own
habitations in the metropolis and its environs, was
instituted in 1765, and incorporated in 1830: it
was formerly in the Westminster bridge road, near
Marsh-gate, from which situation it has been recently
removed to York road, where a neat square building
of white brick, ornamented with stone, with a handsome
receding portico of the Ionic order, has been erected:
the institution is under the patronage of Her Royal
Highness the Duchess of Kent, and the direction of a
committee, of which Earl Grosvenor is president. The
Royal Universal Infirmary for children, in the Waterloo
road, was originally established at St. Andrew's hill,
Doctors  Commons, in 1816, and is supported by donations
and subscriptions; it administers relief in all diseases
of children, from the time of the birth till fourteen
years of age, being open in cases of emergency to all first
applications for admission, without recommendation, and
is under the patronage of His Majesty. The Benevolent
Society of St. Patrick, instituted in 1784, for the relief
of the distressed Irish families in London and its environs,
and for the education of their children, is under
the patronage of His Majesty; a handsome and capacious
building was erected for this purpose in Upper
Stamford-street, in 1820, at an expense of £8000, comprising
two school-rooms, with a house for the master
and the mistress, committee rooms, and other offices.
The society has a fund of £ 25,000, and is liberally supported
by annual subscription: there are four hundred
and forty children in the schools, who are clothed and
instructed, and, on their leaving the institution, are
placed out apprentices, or to service in respectable families.
Sir Noel Caron, in 1623, gave a rent-charge of
£28 on his mansion at South Lambeth, for the maintenance
of an almshouse which he had erected in the
parish, for the support of seven aged widows, to each
of whom he allowed £4 per annum,  which has been
augmented by an appropriation of a part of large sums
of money bequeathed by Thomas, Earl Thanet, for
charitable uses, by his administratrix, the Dowager
Countess Gower. Almshouses have also been erected
in Coldharbour-lane, by the Company of Parish Clerks,
for eight widows of members of that fraternity; and
there are numerous and extensive charitable bequests
for distribution among the poor.