Evening star., 1909-07-19
ANTIQUITIES Of CROYDON
THREATENED DESTRUCTION OF
ELIzABETHAN ALMsHoUsEs.
Ancient Episcopal Palace That Lies
in . Sleepy Hollow Of
the Venerable City.
From the London Chronicle.

From the London Chronicle.
The intense public interest awakened in
the antiquities OF Croydon by the threat
ened destruction Of the old Elizahethan
almshouses TO widen the main thorough
fare is now directing a stream Of visitors
to the surprising treasures OF its old
episcopal palace, a yet more ancient
foundation. lying in a sleepy hollow be-
lov the busy roar Of the modern town;
almost forgotten save by the archeologist
or student Of local history. The mutilat-
ed beauty OF this old palace and the rc-
nance Of it's past glories protest against
the long neglect which this old manor
Of England's medieval and later primates
has sustained at the hands Of the world
and its neighbors.
SO far away as Archbishop Lanfranc.
1870 an ecclesiastical seat was founded
on this site. and mandate of 1913 re-
veals that great ciersy house stood
here. which was to be seyerslly added to
and embellished by long succession of
reigning prelates and cardinals until the
year l752. when Archbishop Herring
wrote: IT love this old house and am
amusing myself with it's history. for the
house is not one but mostly an assre-
ages
xQe 0auQuSI 1u@1.
Dominating the rambling body of the
old palace, superb even In it's dismantled
grandeur, Is the great banqueting hall.
a noble structure Of flint and stone, fifty
six feet long. thirty-eight feet broad.
soaring upward In the beautiful old roof
OF open timber perpendicular chestnut to
q height In Its dusky recesses OF ninety
feet. Round the walls OF this chamber,
n rfa
bearing the arms of the .Archbishops Of
Canterbury. among which are those OF
Laud, Whitgift and Parker. Regal hospi-
talities have been dispensed in this great
scholars-hither came at three different
epochs Of her life the imperial Eliza
beth, bearing in her train the greatest
names Of the Tudor Renaissance. Bur
leigh, Hunsdon. Walsingham, Leicester
Christopher Hatton and the lovely Fran
ces Howard have all made this old palace
resound and glitter with their gaiety, In
trigue and fascination.
Tragic issues have nevertheless been
wrought out in the great hall: here Gran
meT interrogated that learned and ex-
cellent John Fryth'' and condemned him
to suffer martyrdom at Smithheld. July
4, 1888.
The Guard Chamber.
To the west of the banqueting hall
tuC uCAL b IchI IVOKu SEOyuOu I-d10S0
fs the guard chamber. conspicuous for
it's lovely oriel window. looking down
into tiny slumberous courtyard. green
with moss and lichen. At one time this
room was occupied by the guards Of
ward King James l of Scotland. who
was transferred to Croydon from the
bleaker air and more rigorous confine-
ment Of Pevensey Castle. Archbishop
Juxon, who accompanied Charles I on
the scaffold. accomplished much Of the
which Is believed to have been origi-
nally built by Archbishop Arundel
4 dark, quaint sixteenth-century gal.
palace with an exquisite little Tudor
chapel, lit by seven windows OF plain
lancet-shaped lights and adorned by
perforated oak screen emblazoned with
the arms Of the archiepiscopal see, i'm
paling those Of the famous and unfor.
tunate Laud. The wooden roof slopes
to the southwest corner. where is still
preserved Queen Eliza6eths pew, one
of the most interesting features Of the
ancient establishment 1t forms tiny
kind Of triangular gallery carved In the
renaissance style, and has a low-pitched
retiring room behind 1t. leading OF to
another vast room known :. as the
queens bedchamber. This chapel has
seen tne COnSecTdI1on O1 no IeWer tndn
eight bishops within its walls.
Beneath the chapel and running to
the rear Of the old buildings lies an
anonymous cluster Of dungeons, ceils
and Offices whose secrets can never now
be penetrated by the mind of man.
though tradition says both Lollards and
political offenders have pined within
their narrow compass. Shorn Of the
dove-cots. gardens and orchards which
once formed part Of this ancient mes
suaEe, Croydon Palace possesses yet a
wealth of unexpected beauty and a
potency Of historic appeal which wsii
repay the homage Of a pious piig3s