St-Mary-At-Lambeth: A Medieval Hidden Gem

St-Mary-at-Lambeth church is, bar Lambeth Palace, probably the most historic building in Lambeth. It is incredibly significant to London’s heritage for a number of reasons.

There has been a church on the site since at least 1062. It would have been a wooden church at first before being rebuilt in stone.

In the 13th century Lambeth Palace was established next door as the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the church began to function as a key part of their religious centre. In fact, a fair few Archbishops of Canterbury are buried at the church, although their tombs are not on display.

It is also the burial place of many figures in the Howard family including Elizabeth Boleyn: daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and Anne Boleyn’s mother. Norfolk House, their London home, was just down the road.

Much of the main body of the church was rebuilt in 1851, with the tower the only surviving medieval element, dating from the 14th century.

The Garden Museum

Changes to population and general dilapidation led to the church being deconsecrated in 1972 and scheduled for demolition.

Thankfully, a couple named Rosemary and John Nicholson stepped in. They set up the Tradescant Trust to protect the Tradescant grave (more on this below) and the church.

With the funding raised, they opened the Garden Museum in 1977, preserving this unique, irreplaceable and fascinating piece of London history.

The Garden Museum was the first of its kind in the world and has many interesting displays on the history of gardening.

The church has been converted beautifully and provides a wonderfully atmospheric home for the museum.

You will be taken through the tools we have used to tend to our beloved gardens, how we have decorated them (including a display on garden gnomes) and how we have designed them.

They also, hilariously, have an orange Uniqlo jumper worn by Alan Titchmarsh between 2007-2010.

They also host regular special exhibitions. See their website here for tickets, I can highly recommend a visit.

The Tower

Where in London can you get panoramic views of the river, Westminster, the London Eye and the City? St-Mary-at-Lambeth/Garden Museum, that’s where!

Included in the price of the Garden Museum ticket (or £4 separately) you can climb the 131 steps to the top of the medieval 14th century tower, built in 1377.

Be warned, it is quite narrow and steep, but the views are worth it!

The Pedlar’s Window

A little interesting curiosity to be found in the church is the ‘Pedlar’s Window’.

The story goes that a poor pedlar (someone who travels about selling small items) and his dog, were given shelter at the church in the late 1400’s. As thanks, he promised that should he ever become rich, he would make a donation to the church on the condition that him and his dog’s image be preserved forever in a stained glass window.

The humble pedlar did indeed become rich and donated an acre of land, called the ‘pedlar’s acre’ to the church (now underneath County Hall). To uphold their end of the deal the church faithfully installed the first window in 1500.

The inscription around the side of the window describes the history since then: ‘Mended in 1608. Renewed 1703. Transferred to this Chapel 1884. Destroyed 1941. Renewed 1956’.

Nearby in Lambeth you will also find ‘Pedlar’s Park’, in honour of this mysterious figure.

John Tradescant

In the lovely Sackler courtyard garden at the centre of the museum you will find the extraordinary grave of the Tradescant Family.

Gardener and plant collector extraordinaire, John Tradescant the elder was born around 1570.

He became head gardener to many high-ranking aristocrats including the Earl of Salisbury at Hatfield House and the Duke of Buckingham. He went on to become gardener to Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I. His aristocratic masters sent him on expeditions all over the globe, including to the Arctic, to collect specimens and bring them back to Britain.

John moved to Lambeth in 1629, where he set up a large estate himself and planted a huge botanical garden, cultivating many species for the first time in Britain.

John also displayed his collection of botanical specimens and oddities in an exhibition called ‘The Ark’. It was the most extensive in Europe and the first museum to be opened to the public in Britain.

Some items from this collection are on loan from the Ashmolean museum and can be seen in the Garden Museum.

John Tradescant’s son, John Tradescant the Younger (1608-1662) continued the family obsession and became royal gardener himself. He also travelled the world in search of the weird and wonderful. He is thought to have potentially cultivated the first pineapple in Britain.

The Tradescant tomb is amazing. It depicts scenes from their travels and, at one end, a magnificent carved Hydra. If you chop off one of the Hydra’s head, two re-grow, so this is thought to symbolise the Tradescant’s ever-enduring legacy to gardening. The grave was originally installed in 1662 on the death of the younger John and then entirely restored in 1853.

William Bligh’s Grave

Another grave of note here is that of Vice-Admiral William Bligh. He famously lost his ship, The Bounty, to a mutiny in 1789 on the way back from Tahiti. Bligh and 18 crewman were set adrift in a small boat. Remarkably, being a skilled navigator, Bligh sailed them nearly 4000 miles to Timor in the Dutch East Indies and survived.

Bligh lived in Lambeth and you can still see his house today, on Lambeth Road, where he lived from 1794-1813.

He died in 1817 and was buried here at St Mary’s. Note on his grave it mentions one of his lesser known achievements: that he ‘first transplanted the bread fruit tree’. Read more on that here.

John Sealy’s Grave

From 1799-1813 John Sealy was the senior business partner at the Coade stone factory in Lambeth. They produced an artificial stone that can be seen all over London- for example the keystone heads over the doors on Bedford Square and the South Bank Lion.

Unsurprisingly the rather dramatic monument adorning the grave is made of Coade stone, as well as William Bligh’s grave.

Thank you for reading! More London hidden gems below!