This is Lambeth Palace Library, founded in 1610, it is the historic library of the Archbishops of Canterbury and is the principal library for the history of the Church of England. It is not generally open to the public but I was fortunate to see it when I visited the gardens on an open day. The building has that wow factor when you walk through the large wooden doors.
Reflections made photographing these books very difficult but I think still worth posting.
Lambeth Palace has a ceiling so high that the natural light floods in. A perfect setting for the principal library for the history of the Church of England :)
ReplyDeleteAnd for me.... there is nothing more depressing than a dull reading space.
The woodwork and general architecture are amazing! Thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteI love that ceiling. Lovely to see those beautifully hand done texts and illumination close up, I’m sure.
ReplyDeleteIncredible!
ReplyDeleteCould you smell the old books?
ReplyDeleteThe roof would certainly stop me and say wow.
ReplyDeleteYes te ceiling attracts the attention for sure!
ReplyDeleteAmazing place! That wall of books is breathtaking, and those pages are a wonderful thing to share. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat ceiling got me too. Wow. Seeing ancient books like that would give me goosebumps.
ReplyDeleteThe building indeed is beautiful and very special !
ReplyDeleteI love old books, especially about church history, and the setting is perfect. I am a retired librarian so I like everything about your post today.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing those old books. They are amazing.
ReplyDeleteSuch a special place …
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
What a treasure!!
ReplyDeleteOh, Wow! ~ Love libraries and what great photos you took ~ ^_^
ReplyDeleteHappy Day to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
That's one impressive place of knowledge. It is very difficult to photograph through glass, I learned that when I was taking lots of photos of hand dipped chocolates and fancy sweets for my candy blog. You did a good job though. My little pocket camera has a Through Glass option that works pretty well.
ReplyDeleteAs there are so many books, maybe the Archbishop should read some. And discover the real world beyond his privileged and remote existence?
ReplyDelete...what a special place, it's a work of art!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful place! That ceiling is amazing!
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day!
Fabulous! A friend worked there for awhile and told me a bit about it - I didn't realise it had such a wonderful hammerbeam ceiling. What an opportunity to pop in!
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