Because he’s basically the CEO of the Church of England, and CEOs need multiple offices. Lambeth Palace is for the London power lunches with Parliament and the Prime Minister. Canterbury is for the spiritual stuff—ordaining new priests, leading Easter services, and occasionally tripping over ancient stones.
Fun historical fact: the garden at Lambeth Palace has a grapevine planted in the 18th century that still produces wine. Yes, the Archbishop’s garden wine is a real thing. It’s probably not award-winning, but it’s better than the communion grape juice. Another surprise: the palace library holds over 150,000 books, including a first edition of the King James Bible. That’s the kind of reading material that could cure insomnia.
The Installation of the One Hundred and Sixth Archbishop of Canterbury
The Secret Danger of Living in a House of God
Living in a medieval palace isn’t all candlelit dinners and holy whispers. The place has no central heating in the original sections. Imagine running through a stone hallway in your bathrobe to grab a biscuit—your teeth chattering like a hailstorm on a tin roof. And the ghosts? Probably just drafts, but you never know. The Archbishop’s family reportedly hears footsteps where no one is walking. That’s either a poltergeist or a very confused tourist.
But the biggest headache? Council tax. Yes, the Archbishop has to pay it. And as a religious building, Lambeth Palace is classified as a “place of worship,” so it’s except from some taxes, but the residential flat isn’t. So Justin Welby probably has to fill out the same boring forms you do, just with more historical error margins.
So, where does the Archbishop of Canterbury live? In two amazing, ancient, slightly impractical homes. One is a fortress of faith on the Thames, the other a holy mansion in Canterbury. And he’s probably just as annoyed about the Wi-Fi speed as you are.
Now you can impress your friends with this trivia: “He doesn’t live in a haunted castle—he lives in a two-bedroom apartment in a haunted castle called Lambeth Palace!” They’ll be so dazzled, they might even buy you a coffee. And if not, that’s okay. At least you know the Archbishop probably had to do his own laundry this morning. And that’s the truest spiritual lesson of all.
