The exhibition 'Fulham Palace: From Bishop's Home to People's Palace' launched last week with a talk by our curator Miranda Poliakoff.
Bishop Robert Stockford
There’s much to discover at the exhibition but it is still only a taster of the huge number of tales, images and artefacts Miranda has gathered. The point of the exhibition is to encourage local people to contribute their memories and photos of the palace’s history and space has been left especially for this. The exhibition will change as time progresses and more peoples’ memories and photos are added. Miranda will also be recording some oral histories.
Miranda took us on a whistle stop tour through the last forty years of Fulham Palace’s history following the departure of the bishops. When the Bishop of London gave up his residency at the palace it became national news. In the past war environment, it was deemed too extravagant a residence as well as inconvenient for the Bishop’s regular visits to the House of Lords, St Paul’s and Westminster. In the years that followed the palace’s future was often in doubt and it fell into disrepair. Many ideas were floated over the years from turning it into offices to using twenty five bedrooms as piano rooms.
The bishop's former lounge which today is the cafe.
It wasn’t until 1987 that Fulham Palace was first opened to the public. Since then the palace has hosted everything from barn dances, to art groups and wedding receptions with no dancing allowed. As part of Operation Bumblebee the police hosted an exhibit of stolen goods. In the early 1990s it was also the backdrop for the film Princess Caraboo with gallows erected over the top of the fountain.
The exhibition already seems to be doing its job as the talk attendees discussed their memories of the palace from a St George’s day scout parade in the 1960s to a bishop’s garden party. Please do come along to the exhibition to learn more and share your memories with us. You can also comment below or start your own and join in with discussion on the forum.
This kicks off our new monthly theme 'From Bishop's home to People's palace'.
Rachel Goth
Volunteer Communication Assistant