The remains of five former Archbishops of Canterbury have reportedly been discovered beneath a church.

The find was made by builders renovating a medieval parish church next to Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s official London residence, according to a national newspaper.

Workmen found 30 lead coffins while carrying out the work at the Garden Museum, on the site of deconsecrated church of St Mary-at-Lambeth.

Metal plates bearing the names of five former Archbishops of Canterbury, going back to the early 1600s, were discovered upon further inspection.

Site manager Karl Patten told the Sunday Telegraph: “We discovered numerous coffins - and one of them had a gold crown on top of it”.

Among the remains are those of Richard Bancroft - Archbishop from 1604 to 1610 - who oversaw the publication of the King James Bible.

Also at the site are believed to be the remains former Archbishops John Moore (archbishop from 1783 to 1805); Frederick Cornwallis (1768 to 1783); Matthew Hutton (1757 to 1758) and Thomas Tenison (1695 to 1715).

The church St Mary-at-Lambeth was originally built in the 11th Century.