Hatfield House is a Jacobean house that was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I and has been the home of the Cecil family ever since. It is currently the home of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury. An earlier building on the site was the Royal Palace of Hatfield. Only part of this still exists, a short distance from the present house. That palace was the childhood home and favorite residence of Queen Elizabeth I. Built in 1497 by the Bishop of Ely, it consisted of four wings in a square surrounding a central courtyard. The palace was seized by Henry VIII with other church properties. Henry VIIIs children, King Edward VI and the future Queen Elizabeth I, spent their youth at Hatfield Palace. It was later presented to Robert Cecil, who pulled down three of the four wings of the old Palace, and reused many of the bricks in building the new house. The house and grounds are open to the public.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 19:56:26 +0000
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