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Warham Road, SEVENOAKS, TN14 5PF

The parade of shops is on the A225 in Otford - Kent

Part of the remains of the palace, once a residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, which, according to the information board on the site, rivalled Hampton Court in grandeur.

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

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, the lower storey of an adjoining Gallery with a modern first floor for occupation as cottages, and a fragment of the Great Gatehouse. This is the information board.

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 to the left), the lower storey of an adjoining Gallery with a modern first floor for occupation as cottages (on the right), and a fragment of the Great Gatehouse. The information board can be seen at http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5036961

On the Green at Otford

South West view of the ruins