Fulham Palace

Fulham Palace served as the Bishop of London's residence until 1973. The complex developed over several centuries, beginning with the Great Hall and service rooms built around 1480 for Bishop Kemp. Around 1500, a porch and west courtyard were added, followed by additional service rooms to the south of the Great Hall for Bishop Fitzjames between 1506 and 1522. A block including the Dining Room, positioned to the north of the Great Hall, was constructed around 1750 for Bishop Sherlock. The east court, occupying the site of the medieval principal chambers, was rebuilt in Gothick style by Stiff Leadbetter for Bishop Terrick in 1764–6, then further remodelled and refronted between 1814 and 1818 by S P Cockerell for Bishop Howley, who converted the Great Hall into a new chapel. The south range of the west courtyard was rebuilt in 1853 for Bishop Blomfield.

The building materials reflect these different construction periods: early 16th-century red brick with purple brick diaper patterns, 18th-century red brick, and early 19th-century yellow brick to the east court. The roofs are gabled with old tiles, and brick chimney stacks are present throughout. The plan comprises an east courtyard and a west courtyard, separated by the Great Hall, with Bishop Sherlock's Dining Room range to the north and Bishop Fitzjames's service range to the south.

West Courtyard and Great Hall Range

This section is of two storeys. The west front, consisting of a six-window range, features a central early 16th-century moulded Tudor-arched gateway. The early 16th-century ribbed double doors have lap-jointed leaves to the rear, possibly of 12th-century origin. Flat brick arches sit over late 19th- and 20th-century casements, an 18th-century two-light leaded casement to the right, and a large circa 1850 wooden cross window with leaded lights to the right of the archway.

The north front includes an early 19th-century outshot and, to the north of the Great Hall, a two-storey, three-bay block built around 1750 for Bishop Sherlock, with a projecting central bay. A semi-circular arch crowns a mid-18th-century sash with thick glazing bars at the centre. Flat brick arches cover two similar ground-floor sashes and three early 19th-century first-floor sashes. A cyma-moulded cornice runs beneath the parapet. An early 19th-century two-storey, two-bay block in similar style, with early 19th-century sashes, extends to the east.

The south front displays 18th-century two-light leaded casements at first-floor level. Three early 17th-century brick gables were added to the projecting early 16th-century service range, which features brick pilasters and string courses, and the arms of Bishop Fitzjames carved in stone over a segmental-arched doorway.

The inner walls facing the courtyard include an early 16th-century three-storey gatehouse to the Great Hall, with offset corner buttresses, a mid-19th-century Perpendicular-style doorway, and an early 16th-century six-light oriel window with hollow-chamfered arched lights and Perpendicular colonettes. A similar five-light window sits above with carved spandrels, and moulded brick corbels support a trefoiled frieze beneath the parapet. Three late 18th-century wooden cross windows with leaded lights illuminate the hall on the left, with three similar windows and 20th-century hipped dormers to the range on the right.

The south-facing wall contains late 19th- and 20th-century casements set in heavy pegged frames, 19th-century six-panelled doors, and 18th-century wooden cross windows. The north-facing wall, rebuilt in 1853 with offset buttresses, has four ribbed doors set in Tudor-style surrounds, two-light casements, and three leaded casements (probably 18th century) set in chamfered brick architraves. The east-facing wall includes a late 19th-century door, one 18th-century two-light leaded casement at top left, a late 19th-century two-light casement, and a 17th-century-style cross window next to an early 16th-century archway, which inside has exposed timber-framed cross walls and two mid-18th-century panelled doors.

East Courtyard

The east courtyard dates from 1764–6 and was refronted in 1814–18. The east elevation, a seven-window range, features a stucco storey band to the five central bays dating from 1814–18, with lower fenestration to the outer bays. The outer bays contain 20th-century French windows set in moulded architraves with bracketed pediments. The central bays have full-height fifteen-pane sashes set in moulded plaster architraves with bracketed cornices, and twelve-pane first-floor sashes set in moulded plaster architraves. A moulded cornice runs beneath the parapet.

The north elevation, of three storeys with projecting outer bays, has flat brick arches over a 20th-century door and two nine-pane sashes on the ground floor. The first floor presents a range of sashes and leaded casements set in late 18th-century Gothick stucco architraves. The second floor has flat brick arches over twelve-pane sashes, with a moulded cornice beneath the parapet.

The two-storey south elevation, an eight-window range, features flat brick arches over twelve-pane sashes, a similar cornice, a 17th-century external stack, and a three-storey brick extension of 1866 leading to the chapel by Butterfield.

Interior of Hall Range and West Courtyard

The hall range contains late 17th-century bolection-moulded panelling, turned balusters, and two open pedimented doorways set on carved brackets in the screens passage. The Great Hall to the left has a coffered ceiling and a circa 1853 chimneypiece with a segmental pediment and richly carved festoons to the overmantle. Early 19th-century semi-circular arched blind arcading decorates the vestibule at the rear of the screens passage, with access to a cross-vaulted passage of the same date behind the Great Hall.

The 15th-century roof of the Great Hall features collar trusses with curved windbraces to butt purlins. The truss adjoining the stack has queen posts clasping scissored braces and raking struts. The central truss (originally a partition) has elbowed canting struts.

The Dining Room of around 1750, to the north of the Great Hall, has a modillioned cornice and a fine rococo plaster ceiling. The room above contains a mid-18th-century panelled niche, early 19th-century shuttering, and traces of mid- to late 18th-century hand-blocked wallpaper. The service range to the south was not inspected but is noted as having a reset Tudor-arched wooden archway and Bishop Laud's carved stone arms (1628–33).

The north range of the west courtyard has a timber-framed partition to the west, mid-18th-century panelled doors set in moulded wood architraves, and mid-18th-century panelled shutters. Quartered 16th-century beams are present in the room on the east. A mid-18th-century panelled dado runs to the centre, with an early 19th-century fireplace with a reeded architrave to the west. The first floor contains a late 17th-century straight-flight staircase with turned balusters, a mid-18th-century stone fireplace, mid-18th-century plaster cornices, an early 19th-century open-well staircase, and complete sets of early 16th-century oak joists and floor framing.

The west range of the west courtyard includes the Armoury, to the north of the entry, which has a fireplace overmantel with a heraldic cartouche of Bishop Robinson (1714–23) set in a carved wood imbricated frame, and segmental-arched recesses, rere-arches, and ceiling cornice of around 1850 for Bishop Blomfield. A 17th-century stop-chamfered newel post serves a dog-leg staircase with winders. The first floor has mid-18th-century panelled doors and cross beams to transverse partitions, and is noted as having 16th-century roof trusses.

Interior of East Courtyard

The north range contains early 19th-century shutters. The ground-floor room to the west has a fine early 19th-century neo-classical marble fireplace, an enriched plaster frieze, and bracketed cornices to doorways. The ground-floor room to the east (Porteus Library) features an early 19th-century marble fireplace, a segmental-arched vault with panelled plasterwork, and bookcases with fluted half-columns. First-floor rooms have mid-18th-century panelled doors and shutters and plain early 19th-century fireplaces. Three early 19th-century second-floor rooms have coffered ceilings and panelled doors. An early 19th-century open-well staircase with a ramped mahogany handrail serves these floors.

The south range contains a gallery with panels of heraldic glass, including that of Bishop Porteus, mid-18th-century panelled doors and dados, and early 19th-century door architraves. The ground-floor room to the north has early 19th-century bolection-moulded panelling, fine doorcases each with carved acanthus-leaf brackets to cornices, and an early 19th-century fireplace.

The second-floor room to the south has a mid-18th-century dado, a dentilled cornice and pulvinated frieze to the door architrave, and a fine circa 1764 fireplace by Leadbetter carved with urns, wreaths, and other decoration in a light rococo style. A small room to the centre has original fittings to mid-18th-century doors and a dentilled cornice and pulvinated frieze over the door architrave leading to a large reception room on the north, which has another fine Leadbetter fireplace and a panelled dado. Also on the second floor are rooms with early 19th-century plaster cornices, and a mid-18th-century panelled dado leading to a room with a mid-18th-century cornice with a fluted frieze. A staircase with mid-18th-century twisted balusters is located to the west.

16th-century timbers are reset in the 18th-century roof. 13th- or 14th-century stonework in the cellar marks the change of site of the Bishop's Palace from further west to its present position.