Otford Palace
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Otford Palace by Marathon as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Otford Palace
Image: © Marathon Taken: 15 Jul 2016
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. Rebuilt around 1515 at a cost of £33,000 by Archbishop Warham, Otford Palace rivals the palatial scale of Wolsey's Hampton Court, built just afterwards. It was intended to be the main centre of royal and ecclesiastical power. Henry VIIIth forced Archbishop Cranmer to surrender it in 1537, and this was the palace where Henry and Catherine of Aragon stayed before they made their way to the Field of the Cloth of Gold for the meeting with King Francis, King of France. However, after Henry's death the Crown lost interest in it and it fell into decay. The principle surviving structures are the north-west tower (seen here), the lower storey of an adjoining Gallery with a modern first floor for occupation as cottages, and a fragment of the Great Gatehouse. The information board can be seen at http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5036961
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.311312
Longitude
0.191094