Luminarium Encyclopedia: Hatfield House.

The Old Palace at Hatfield House is located in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, some twenty miles north of London. Hatfield's full name, Bishop's Hatfield, derives its name from the palace of the bishops of Ely, built in the 12th century.

The Old Hatfield House was built around 1485 by Bishop Morton, of lovely red brick. In 1538, Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely, gave the palace to King Henry VIII in exchange for other lands. One of the King's residences, it housed Catherine of Aragon during the divorce proceedings, and was home to Edward and Elizabeth in their childhood. It also served as Elizabeth's residence during the reign of Queen Mary. In the park is an oak tree under which, legend has it, Elizabeth was sitting when the news of Mary's death was delivered. As Queen Elizabeth, she held her first Council of State in its banqueting hall, in 1558. After Elizabeth's death in 1603, Hatfield House belonged to King James I. King James, however, gave it in 1607 to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, in exchange for the palace at Theobalds, in the same county.

Cecil demolished much of the original palace, and the remaining wing was used as the stables for the Marquess of Salisbury for some three centuries, until its restoration by the 4th Marquess of Salisbury. The Old Palace at Hatfield House, and its gardens, is open today to visitors and available for hire for weddings and parties.

Books for further study:

Henderson, Paula. The Tudor House and Garden: Architecture and Landscape
           in the Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries.
           New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005.

Thurley, Simon. The Royal Palaces of Tudor England:
           Architecture and Court Life, 1460-1547.
           Paul Mellon Center, 1993.

Hatfield House on the Web:

Hatfield House

Article Citation:

Jokinen, Anniina. “Hatfield House.” Luminarium.
24 Sept 2006. [Date when you accessed the page].
<https://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/hatfieldhouse.htm>

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