Fulham Palace & All Saints Church

Back view of Fulham Palace showing the cafe.

Fulham Palace (former home to the Bishops of London) is just a bus ride away for me, so it's somewhere I visit now and then. I love the walled garden, and the palace has a nice cafe (always a bonus!).

So on a free day I took the bus to Putney Bridge and wandered a different way and entered the park and palace a different way.

River Thames at Putney

A garden centre I found near the palace

I have my favourite places I like to see there, and the chapel is always one of them. It is always so peaceful and has lovely wall paintings and mosaics. But first I entered the wall gardens and was pleasantly surprised by the flowers. Summer has killed so much in gardens this year I didn't expect such colour. Vegetables, especially, squashes, were doing well and being harvested. Some had made an appearance on the market cart. Here you can find plants and pots of honey and jam for sale. If there is no one to take the money, there is an honesty box and a book to write down what you have bought.

The back of the chapel

500 year old tree

Welcome to the hens

Bee hives

An addition to the walled garden since I was last there are the hens. They were clucking away in their enclosure, and I was pleased to see them. I sat in the garden for a while soaking up the atmosphere before wandering towards the greenhouses and finally out and towards the cafe for lunch.

After smashed avocado on toast and two cups of tea, I headed to the chapel, after which I went into the museum and watched a video about how slave women hid messages in their hair (the way it was styled). I'd come across this at an exhibition before somewhere else and was amazed how the different stylings meant something and the slave owners had no idea about their secret lives. It was one thing they could not take from them.

Library

Chapel

Old wallpaper

The courtyard, Fulham Palace

I explored the other rooms, and there was a man playing the piano in one room, which was nice. I've always wanted to know what is upstairs. The staircase is intriguing - wide and carpeted - but it is closed to the public. I am nosy (locked doors, cupboards, nooks and crannies interest me), though maybe I will never know what is up there. Obviously bedrooms from the time the palace was used as residence for the Bishops of London. Oh, well, I live in hope!

All Saints Church, Fulham is another place I pop into when I visit the palace. The windows are beautiful and it has a pleasant atmosphere. There is always something I have missed from previous visits, and I find churchyards photogenic.