The Archbishop's Palace is an iconic heritage building that is being conserved to become an interpretation and education centre with a focus on discovery and information about the Palace, the Tudors, Otford and the broader context of the Darent Valley.
Came across this on hiking tour. Luckily ran into couple of gentlemen's who run and look after the place. One of them was kind enough to open the palace gates for us to look inside and have a tour of the palace if self. A lot of history behind this place and you can see the old materials use to build it. Definitely worth a visit. Very limited parking but a short walk away from the train station.
From Anglo-Saxon times until 1537, Otford Palace was one of a chain of houses for the Archbishops of Canterbury, as Lords of the Manor of Otford. It was rebuilt around 1515 by Archbishop Warham, the palace rivals the palatial scale of Wolsey's Hampton. Henry VIII forced Archbishop Cranmer to surrender it in 1537 and after Henry's death the crown lost interest and it then fell into decay. In 1936 Sevenoaks Rural District Council become the owner. In 1976 the site becomes the scheduled monument. It is located in beautiful village with lots of little cafes to sit down and relax after enjoyable walk in the Palace field.
I have visited Otford palace many times over the years, I always find it intriguing the history of the place going back 500 odd years. Imagining king Henry the eighth strolling around here considering who to have beheaded next. When I first came over here as a youngster many years ago we could get into it, and if memory serves me right it did not have a roof on it then.
This little jem hidden away from the rather quant village shows you how as important Otford was in comparison to places like Lambeth palace and Hampton Court palace. There's not much left and that which is is inaccessible, in a ruinous state and seems to have even houses attached to it. It's a hope that one day this could be opened to the public.
Beautiful example of historical building. The tower is being renovated at the moment with excellent progress.
Lovely little walking area for kids and dogs. Has a few areas when they can splash in a little stream too!
Good for kids
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Came across this on hiking tour. Luckily ran into couple of gentlemen's who run and look after the place. One of them was kind enough to open the palace gates for us to look inside and have a tour of the palace if self. A lot of history behind this place and you can see the old materials use to build it. Definitely worth a visit. Very limited parking but a short walk away from the train station.
From Anglo-Saxon times until 1537, Otford Palace was one of a chain of houses for the Archbishops of Canterbury, as Lords of the Manor of Otford. It was rebuilt around 1515 by Archbishop Warham, the palace rivals the palatial scale of Wolsey's Hampton. Henry VIII forced Archbishop Cranmer to surrender it in 1537 and after Henry's death the crown lost interest and it then fell into decay. In 1936 Sevenoaks Rural District Council become the owner. In 1976 the site becomes the scheduled monument. It is located in beautiful village with lots of little cafes to sit down and relax after enjoyable walk in the Palace field.
I have visited Otford palace many times over the years, I always find it intriguing the history of the place going back 500 odd years. Imagining king Henry the eighth strolling around here considering who to have beheaded next. When I first came over here as a youngster many years ago we could get into it, and if memory serves me right it did not have a roof on it then.
This little jem hidden away from the rather quant village shows you how as important Otford was in comparison to places like Lambeth palace and Hampton Court palace. There's not much left and that which is is inaccessible, in a ruinous state and seems to have even houses attached to it. It's a hope that one day this could be opened to the public.
Beautiful example of historical building. The tower is being renovated at the moment with excellent progress.
Lovely little walking area for kids and dogs. Has a few areas when they can splash in a little stream too!
