The National Library & Archive of the Church of England

Lambeth Palace Library is the historic library of the Archbishops of Canterbury and preserves the national archives of the Church of England. The vision of Lambeth Palace Library is to collect, preserve and make accessible the memory of the Church of England, so that its cultural and religious history can be explored and enjoyed by all.

The Library holds the papers of Archbishops of Canterbury and other prominent Church figures, archives of the central institutions of the Church of England, as well as significant manuscript and printed book collections.

From a Lambeth local history perspective, the richest resources are likely to lie within the archives of the central institutions of the Church of England, in particular the archives of the Church Commissioners and their predecessor bodies. These can include records not only relating to specific churches, their parish boundaries, and parsonage houses, but also about commercial and residential property owned by the Church Commissioners as part of their urban estates.

Some of these records are listed in the Library’s online archives catalogue, however much of this material is only searchable by staff via a card index. Library staff are happy to respond to enquiries sent to archives@churchofengland.org and can provide advice on the Library’s holdings relating to local properties and other local history topics.

The Library’s Reading Room is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10:00-17:00, Tuesday 11:00-17:00, and Thursday 10:00-19:15, as well as 10:00-17:00 on the first Saturday of each month. Details of how to register as a reader are available on the Library’s website.