View of Lambeth Palace, London, from across the Thames

View of Lambeth Palace from across the Thames captures the medieval residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury, which had faced the Palace of Westminster across the river since the thirteenth century. Scott's Thames views, painted from the 1720s through the 1760s, collectively form the most comprehensive visual record of London's riverfront before the Victorian embankments transformed it. Scott's Thames views constitute the most comprehensive pictorial survey of London's riverside ever undertaken by a single artist.

The composition follows the established Thames view format with the palace's Gothic silhouette reflected in the river, the careful rendering of architectural detail combined with Scott's characteristically precise depiction of river traffic.