for this town was manifested by his founding a charity school at Croydon. His successor,

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(1715) Archbishop Wake, resided here several summers, and considerably improved this Palace. He rebuilt the great gallery, leading to the garden; and out of the peculiar love which he bore to this Palace, and regard to every thing that appertained to it, hath preserved a pane of glass which was formerly in one of the windows of the gallery, and is now carefully deposited in a neat shagreen case, in the manuscript library at Lambeth.

"(1736) Archbishop Potter seldom resided here, but

(1447) Archbishop Herring at a very great expense, completely repaired and fitted up this Palace, furnished it neatly, and improved and laid out the gardens in a most elegant taste."

!

CHAP. XIII.

Observations upon the Buildings of Croydon

Palace.

To the preceding account we beg to add some further particulars respecting this antique structure, drawn up by the same learned author.

"The mansion houses of the nobility in former times" says Dr. Ducarel, “ very much resembled the old colleges in our universities. They generally consisted of one large court, containing a chapel, a hall, a buttery, kitchen, &c. besides other convenient and necessary apartments, among which a long gallery is not to be omitted.

"All these are to be found in the palace of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury at Croydon. The hall and adjoining offices, as also the guard-chamber, are of Stone; the rest

A A

of the apartments are brick, and together form a large and handsome square or quadrangle.

"This palace having been built at different times, before I enter into an enquiry concerning the different ages of its several parts, it becomes necessary for me to say something about brick buildings in general.

"It is a matter of some difficulty to ascertain the antiquity of brick buildings in England. Some antiquaries are of opinion there are none such older than King Henry the Seventh's time, whilst others carry them back as far as Henry the sixth. The oldest brick building I can remember to have seen, except the East and West side of the great courts of this palace, is Eton College, of which some part yet remains, undoubtedly built in the time of its founder, though the College itself was not built till long afterwards.

"But I must be understood as speaking here of structures built entirely with bricks; otherwise this notion of brick buildings being so modern as the time of King Henry the sixth, will at first sight, appear a little strange to those who have heard of roman bricks. But the difficulty will vanish when it is considered, that almost all the roman brick that has hitherto been discovered, as at Dover, St. Albans,

Kingsbury Church in Middlesex*, &c. has been used in buildings of stone, and is generally found mixed with it.

"If it be asked, what other materials churches could anciently be built with? I answer, with flint; as in Kent, Sussex, and other Counties; or else with wood, as the old church still extant at Greensted, in Essex, testifies t.

"If it be enquired, what materials houses were then built with? I answer that religious houses, or colleges, designed to continue for ever, were built either with stone, or with clunch, a species of rough stone, which, though soft when first dug, in time becomes extremely hard and durable; as appears from buildings belonging to several of the old Colleges at Cambridge and that the houses of the lower sort of people were built with mud, and those of the gentry with wood and plaister, of which sort many are yet remaining in England.

* Kingsbury church, near the Edgeware road, stands in a Roman camp, and is built with Roman bricks mixed with stone.

† Greensted church, engraven by the Society of Antiquaquaries, vol. ii. pl. 7. That this church would endure a very long time, appears by an old house, now called the Half Moon, near Magdalen College, Cambridge, which hath upon one of its beams, a date as old as King Edward III. viz. 1332.

Upon the whole, I am at present inclinable to think, that building entirely with brick was not introduced in England, till some time in the reign of King Henry the sixth, and that the East and West part of the great court, of this Palace were some of the first brick buildings of that age.

"I now come to the Palace, and must observe that the manor of Croydon hath belonged ever since the conquest, to the Archbishops of Canterbury, who have for a long time been possessed of a house in this town; and this first house, I apprehend, stood on the very spot where the present does, which hath been substituted in the room of the former.

"The East and West sides of the great court are the oldest brick buildings I remember to have seen. The doors and windows are narrow at the top. The rooms on the West side, up stairs, (next to a passage which leads to all the chambers), are square, consisting of a little window, and chimney only; those on the East side are of the same size, but have a closet adjoining to several of them without any chamber.

"In this last side there are several staircases; the West side has but one; and that is