Heritage Case Study
Lambeth Palace Great Hall
Client:
Lambeth Palace, on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Parliament, has been the London residence of Archbishops of Canterbury since the 13th Century. It acts as a home for the Archbishop and his family when in London – and as the central office for his national and international ministry.
The grounds of Lambeth Palace are also home to the Lambeth Palace Library, the historic library and record office of the Archbishops of Canterbury and the principal repository of the documentary history of the Church of England.
Peter the Great, who visited in 1698, is recorded as saying that nothing in England astonished him as much as Lambeth Palace Library; he had never thought there were so many books in all the world!
The Project:
The Great hall of Lambeth Palace was ransacked for building material by Cromwell’s troops during the English Civil War. In 1663 it was completely rebuilt in a Gothic style and it is this imposing building that contains the Palace Library.
In June 2015, The Palace Commissioners approached ELG for a lighting solution that would take in account the important architecture of the palace, with its vast hammer-beam roof, while providing an environment in which clergy and visitors can comfortably learn from the books and manuscripts of the highest quality and significance.
The project stipulated that any lighting scheme must provide indirect illumination and also showcase the mahogany ceiling with its carvings of foliage, fruit, lions and arms. These latter features, while spectacular, have the potential to block light.
The location for the luminaries had to be the 1.72m tall elaborately carved bookcases installed in 1829, and which are placed at right angles to the west and east sides of the Hall to form bays. A final request was that the lighting was warm in colour to preserve the special ambience of the Grade 1 Listed hall.
Product Used
After an initial site visit, the approach at ELG is always to mock-up a space using CAD software – this enables the in-house lighting designers to determine the optimum location, colour temperature and angle of the light fittings..
The final CAD drawing at Lambeth Palace Library included 15 different architectural elements within the roof alone and the resulting 3D images gave the Palace Commissioners confidence that they had chosen a lighting company with the sensitivity and vision to manage a location of such historical significance.
ELG’s Nexus range of LED floodlights was the luminaire chosen for its wide range of beam angle, superior build, high lumen output and the ability to provide a warm white light at 2700K. With the added ability of smooth dimming, every fitting could be fine-tuned once in situ. A final winning point was the size of the Nexus – small enough to fit on top of the bookshelves.
The Result
Just two months later on August 15th, 2015, the lighting scheme was completed to a firmly positive response from the management at Lambeth Palace.
Now, records dating from the ninth century are studied under the most modern of LED lighting. It is a fitting next chapter in the history of Lambeth Palace, where the buildings have been added, expanded and altered over the centuries to suit changes in emphasis and purpose.
LED lighting typically uses 90% less electricity than traditional light technologies, such as halogen. LEDs also provide an ecological advantage as they produce less CO2 than halogen and last for many years longer than halogen or CFL.
The final CAD drawing at Lambeth Palace Library included 15 different architectural elements within the roof alone and the resulting 3D images gave the Palace Commissioners confidence that they had chosen a lighting company with the sensitivity and vision to manage a location of such historical significance.
ELG’s Nexus range of LED floodlights was the luminaire chosen for its wide range of beam angle, superior build, high lumen output and the ability to provide a warm white light at 2700K. With the added ability of smooth dimming, every fitting could be fine-tuned once in situ. A final winning point was the size of the Nexus – small enough to fit on top of the bookshelves.
"The result is a sustainable lighting scheme that balances the practical considerations of a listed historic building with the needs of clergy and visitors to the Lambeth Palace Library."
Simon Bodill, General Manager, ELG