Late in 1876 Craufurd Tait, who was working as his father's resident chaplain and private secretary, wished to move on and the Archbishop chose Davidson to succeed him. In May 1877 Davidson began work at Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop's home and headquarters, beginning what Bell describes as "an association with the central life of the Church of England which lasted more than fifty years". Craufurd Tait died after a brief illness in May 1878; his mother never recovered from this blow and died within the year. Despite the Archbishop's offers of several attractive parishes over the following years, Davidson felt his place was at the side of the bereaved Tait, who came more and more to rely on him, and called him a "true son". Bell sees this as altruism on Davidson's part; later biographers have suggested that there may also have been an element of personal ambition in his decision to remain at the centre of Church affairs.