In spite of all these clamours, the procession reached Saint Paul’s in safety, and high mass was celebrated by Bonner and the other bishops, after which prayers were offered up for the Queen, in accordance with the council’s mandate. The mass of the assemblage joined heartily in these supplications, but there were some who refused to recite them, and secretly prayed that Philip’s hopes of an heir might be frustrated. The reader is already aware that Cardinal Pole, immediately on his arrival in London, had been put in possession of Lambeth Palace. This noble residence, with the revenues of the Archbishopric of Canterbury, confiscated on the condemnation of Cranmer for high treason, was bestowed on the Cardinal by the King and Queen; but Pole could not be promoted to the archiepiscopal see while Cranmer lived. One of the Cardinal’s first acts on taking possession of the palace was to summon all the bishops and principal clergy before him, and, after listening to their expressions of penitence for the perjuries, heresies, and schisms they had committed during the late reigns, he gave them absolution. And now, before proceeding further, it may be desirable to give a brief description of the ancient edifice occupied by the Cardinal. The present vast and irregular pile, known as Lambeth Palace, was preceded by a much smaller mansion, wherein the archbishops of Canterbury were lodged, and to which a chapel was attached. This building was pulled down in 1262 by the turbulent Archbishop Boniface, and a new and more important structure erected in its place. Of Boniface’s palace little now remains save the chapel and crypt. So many additions were made to the palace by successive archbishops, and so much was it altered, that it may almost be said to have become another structure. A noble hall, subsequently destroyed in the time of the Commonwealth, was built by Archbishop Chichely, who flourished in the reign of Edward IV.; while the chief ornament of the existing pile, the gateway, was reared by Cardinal Archbishop Morton, towards the end of the 15th century. The Steward’s Parlour, a chamber of large dimensions, was added by Cranmer, and a long gallery and other buildings were erected by Cardinal Pole. Before entering the palace, let us pause to examine the gateway, a structure of almost unrivalled beauty, and consisting of two large square towers, built of fine brick, embattled, and edged with stone. The archway is pointed, and has a groined roof springing from four pillars, one in each corner. Spiral stone staircases lead to the upper chambers, and from the leads of the roof a wonderful prospect of the surrounding metropolis is obtained. Connected with the porter’s lodge is a small prison-chamber, having a double door, and high, narrow-grated windows. The walls are cased with stone, and of prodigious thickness, while three heavy iron rings fixed in them attest the purpose to which the room was formerly applied.