Editing Lambeth Palace (section)

==Library==
[[File:Lambeth Palace Library 2025.jpg|thumb|left|Lambeth Palace Library]]
Within the palace precincts is '''Lambeth Palace Library''', the official library of the archbishop of Canterbury, and the principal repository of records of the [[Church of England]]. It describes itself as "the largest religious collection outside of the [[Vatican Library|Vatican]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/about-lambeth-palace |title=Lambeth Palace |website=The Archbishop of Canterbury |access-date=9 October 2020 }}</ref>

The library was founded as a public library by Archbishop [[Richard Bancroft]] in 1610.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Carley |first=James P. |year=2013 |title=The Libraries of Archbishops Whitgift and Bancroft |journal=[[The Book Collector]] |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=208–228 }}</ref> It was historically located within the main palace complex, but in 2021 a new purpose-built library and repository building opened. This is located at the far end of the palace gardens, with its entrance on Lambeth Palace Road, and was designed by [[Wright & Wright Architects|Wright & Wright]]. In addition to the existing library collections, it houses the archival collections of various Church of England institutions formerly held at the '''Church of England Record Centre''' (opened 1989) in [[Bermondsey]].<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Library |publisher=Lambeth Palace Library |url=https://www.lambethpalacelibrary.info/about-lambeth-palace-library/history-of-the-library/ |access-date=28 January 2024 }}</ref>

The library contains an extensive collection of material relating to ecclesiastical history, including the archives of the archbishops dating back to the 12th century, and those of other church bodies and of various [[Anglican]] missionary and charitable societies. Manuscripts include items dating back to the 9th century. The library also holds over 120,000 printed books. In 1996, when [[Sion College]] Library closed, Lambeth Palace Library acquired its important holdings of manuscripts, pamphlets, and pre-1850 printed books.

Topics covered by the collections range from the history of art and architecture to colonial and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] history, and numerous aspects of English [[social history|social]], political and economic history. The library is also an important resource for [[English local history|local history]] and [[genealogy]]. For online catalogues, see [[#External links|External links]] below.

===Highlights of the collection===
[[File:12th-century painters - The Tree of Jesse - WGA15728.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Illumination of the [[Tree of Jesse]] from the 12th-century [[Lambeth Bible]]]]

Notable items in the collections include:
* [[Mac Durnan Gospels]] (late 9th/early 10th centuries)
* [[Minuscule 473]] (11th century)
* [[Minuscule 559]] (11th century)
* Lambeth Apocalypse (12th century)
* The Romanesque [[Lambeth Bible]] (12th century)
* [[Lambeth Homilies]] ({{circa|1200}})
* Book of Hours of [[King Richard III of England|King Richard III]] (mid 15th century)
* ''[[A Short English Chronicle]]'' (mid 15th century)
* A rare copy of the [[Gutenberg Bible]] (1450s)
* [[Lambeth Choirbook]] (16th century)
* [[Book of Howth]] (late 16th century)
* Archives of the [[Commission for Building Fifty New Churches]] (1711–1759)
* Archives of the [[Incorporated Church Building Society]] (1818–1982)