Moral & Material Decay: Four Centuries of the Court of Arches

Lambeth Palace Library invites you to peer into the naughty corner and see the allegations drawn from the courtroom of the Province of Canterbury’s most senior ecclesiastical court over the centuries.

The records of the Court of Arches follow misbehaving clergy, watchful servants and members of the gentry with much to lose, as they battle their way through allegations of infidelity, defamation and wayward religious practices. This exhibition explores some of the themes that dominate the court and illuminates social relations and practices over four hundred years.