Church of St Mary-at-Lambeth

Adjacent to Lambeth Palace, the Church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, deconsecrated in 1972, is now home to the Garden Museum.

The site of worship, burials and monuments for more than 950 years, the Church of St Mary-at-Lambeth is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The fourteenth century church has been much modified, with major restoration and rebuilding works in the nineteenth century in particular, but the original bell tower remains.

In Tudor times, the church was used by the Howard family, whose London residence, Norfolk House, was close by. Agnes Tilney, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk and Elizabeth Howard, Countess of Wiltshire and mother of George, Anne and Mary Boleyn, were buried here, although their tombs are no longer visible.

Two sixteenth century wall monuments, to Hugh Peyntwyn and John Mompesson, can be viewed in the Ark Gallery, and the gravestone of Elizabeth Howard has been integrated into the floor of the museum’s gift shop, where it can still be seen.

See also: Lambeth Palace