Clothworkers' Hall Guidebook

William Lambe Born in Sutton Valence, Kent in 1495, William Lambe was described as a gentleman of the Royal Chapel. He benefitted from the dissolution of the monasteries and in 1543 he was granted the ancient Hermitage or Chapel of St James in the Wall at Monkwell Street by the monarch.

Lambe is chiefly remembered for establishing almshouses and a grammar school at Sutton Valence, which the Clothworkers subsequently administered, and bringing fresh drinking water to the part of Holborn now known as Lamb’s Conduit Street. One of the Company’s greatest benefactors, Lambe left all his property to The Clothworkers’ Company at his death.

The medieval crypt below the Chapel of St James was partially reconstructed underneath the Tower of All Hallows Staining when Monkwell Street was developed in the 1870s and is the setting for an annual commemoration service for Lambe.

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