Exhibition: Fulham Palace through the Great War

The exhibition tells the story of the Great War at the Palace, the role of the Bishop of London during the national crisis and commemorate those connected with the household who died in the conflict, such as William Burley, the son of the Bishop’s chauffeur.

At the outbreak of war in 1914, Bishop Winnington-Ingram proved an enthusiastic “recruiting sergeant”. He spent two weeks at the Western Front in 1915, staying with Field Marshal French, addressing troops at Ypres, and visiting the London Rifle Brigade. At home he faced pressure to release land for food production.

Finally in 1918 the Council took possession of the Palace Meadow for allotments and the Palace itself was occupied by the Freemasons War Hospital Number Two, run by the Red Cross.The Porteus Library and Drawing Room became wards and the more mobile patients assisted in the garden. It closed in 1919. Several clergymen who were to become Bishops of London served in the war as army chaplains, including Henry Montgomery-Campbell, who was awarded the Military Cross for bravery at Gallipoli.