Addington Palace

Addington Palace is a largely 18th Century Palace in Addington near Croydon, South London. It was a residence of six Archbishops of Canterbury.

The original Addington Place was built in the 16th Century away from the site of the earlier manor. Former Lord Mayor of London, Barlow Trecothick took the house over in the late 18th Century and much redevelopment ensued, transforming it into a three-storey Palladian-style country mansion with single-storey wings and a splendid Great Hall, completed in 1778. The substantial grounds and gardens were landscaped by Lancelot "Capability" Brown.

An Act of Parliament in 1807 enabled the mansion to be purchased for the Archbishops of Canterbury, since Croydon Palace had become inconvenient. It was renamed Addington Palace and further changes were made, much overseen by Richard Norman Shaw.

The Palace became the official second residence of six Archbishops:

• Charles Manners-Sutton from 1805,
• Willam Howley from 1828,
• John Bird Sumner from 1848,
• Charles Thomas Longley from 1862,
• Archibald Campbell Tait from 1868,
• Edward White Benson from 1883.

All except Benson are buried in St Mary's Church in Addington.

The Palace was sold in 1897 to Mr English, a diamond merchant. In World War I the house was taken over by the Red Cross and became a fever hospital, but eventually it came into the hands of the local Council in 1930. In 1953, it was leased to the Royal School of Church Music until 1996, when a private company took it over for development as a conference and banqueting venue, health farm and country club.

It is surrounded by a park and golf courses, and its gardens are still largely in their original design. Much of the grounds have been leased by golf clubs and the exclusive Bishops Walk housing development was built on one part also.

External links

• Friends of Old Palace, Croydon
• Addington Palace conference centre