OCA – Fulham Palace

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Great! Another organised day out courtesy of my old School – Selhurst Grammar School for Boys and The Old Croydonians’ Association. Today, it’s the iconic Fulham Palace – the historic home of the Bishops of London since 704AD.

Thanks to the OCA, we’re building up a nice portfolio of cultural visits so far:-

Hidden Greenwich (September 2024)
Backstage at the National Theatre (February 2024) – missed that one!
Behind the Scenes at the Royal Opera House (October 2023)

We had a straightforward journey there, but we temporarily thwarted by the planned walking route from Putney Bridge Tube leading to the Palace being closed. Thanks to a very friendly local, she accompanied us almost to the door via an alternative route! Ahh, the kindness of strangers! 👍👏

The weather held (we were expecting rain!) and we were soon saying hello to our fellow Old Croydonians together with Valerie, John and Caroline from the Committee. Bob, as usual, had organised the event, but wasn’t with us today. A light nibble or two later, and we were ready for the off! There was around 20 of us, helpfully split into two groups. Theresa, our Guide, who possessed the two vital ingredients for someone in her role – enthusiastic and very knowledgeable! We learned that Bishop Stopford was the final Bishop of London to live here, leaving in 1973, and the Palace, in addition to its home for Bishops had also been a War Hospital in WW1.

In terms of what to see, there was more than we initially thought. Although the Garden (September!) was past its prime, there was plenty else to see and learn more about. There is also a Museum here (although we didn’t visit that today).

Some of it wasn’t accessible on the day, but what we did see was worth the trip. First, the Courtyard…

We learned that the mortar in the brickwork was originally black, and during the renovation work some 20 years ago, it was painstakingly replaced with a more traditional colour.

After seeing the Tudor Courtyard – the oldest part of the Palace – we were shown the Gate. It was impressive (and heavy!) and is still used today.

We headed outside in the almost warm weather (September!!!???) to see some sights we weren’t expecting. If you’re fascinated by wood carvings, you’ll be in for a treat here! 😯

 The carvings (Bishops up a Tree) were created by Andrew Frost in 2007 and donated to the Palace by Dolores Moorhouse in memory of her husband, Peter. Sadly the tree wasn’t in the best of condition and the Bishops were ‘evicted’ to nearby.

As we headed for the Chapel, we were reminded of the mish-mash of architectural styles with each Bishop (all 133 of them!) putting his seal of approval by making changes to the building(s).

For us, the most interesting feature was the Chapel, but here’s the weirdest fact you’ll hear all year! In spite of the obvious religious connections of the Palace, you can hire out the space for Weddings, but you CANNOT have a C of E Wedding Service. Civil Ceremonies are fine, and your Wedding can be blessed, but no ‘traditional’ Service. How weird and what a missed commercial opportunity!

Next stop? The Great Hall. Very spacious and full of paintings of Kings and other nobility. We ended the Tour in the Library (quite modest in size – so modest, I forgot to take a photograph!). The Tour ended just over an hour after it had begun, and we all felt we’d learned a lot. We thanked Theresa and gave her a well-deserved round of applause.

We left around 3pm where our travel connections all fell into place. Actually, it was good to travel on a not-too-crowded Tube (where was everyone?) and the trip from St Pancras International to Huntingdon wasn’t too bad either. We arrived home just after 6pm. Could we have driven it less time? Maybe, 🤔 but the stress of London traffic these days would have ruined the day.

Thanks, Bob- another successful event! 👍👏😁.