Bishop's Palace, Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Built in 1485 for John Morton, Bishop of Ely (and later, Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury), the Bishop's Palace (or Old Palace) is one of the foremost examples of late medieval brickwork in the country.
The palace originally comprised four wings, surrounding a central courtyard. The palace was seized by Henry VIII in 1538. The nearby parish church of St Etheldreda's in Old Hatfield once served the bishop's palace as well as the village.
After her two months of imprisonment in the Tower of London by her sister, Queen Mary, Elizabeth returned to Hatfield. The Queen Elizabeth Oak on the grounds of the estate is said to be the location where Elizabeth was told she was queen following Mary's death, but is considered unlikely as Mary died in November. In November 1558, Elizabeth held her first Council of State in the Great Hall.
Elizabeth's successor, King James I, did not like the palace. It was included in the jointure estate of his wife Anne of Denmark. In 1607, King James gave it to his chief minister, Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, in exchange for Theobalds, which was the Cecils' family home on the current site of Cedars Park, Broxbourne. Cecil, who liked building, tore down three wings of the royal palace (the back and sides of the square) in 1608 and used the bricks to build the present house.
Bishop's Palace, Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Built in 1485 for John Morton, Bishop of Ely (and later, Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury), the Bishop's Palace (or Old Palace) is one of the foremost examples of late medieval brickwork in the country.
The palace originally comprised four wings, surrounding a central courtyard. The palace was seized by Henry VIII in 1538. The nearby parish church of St Etheldreda's in Old Hatfield once served the bishop's palace as well as the village.
After her two months of imprisonment in the Tower of London by her sister, Queen Mary, Elizabeth returned to Hatfield. The Queen Elizabeth Oak on the grounds of the estate is said to be the location where Elizabeth was told she was queen following Mary's death, but is considered unlikely as Mary died in November. In November 1558, Elizabeth held her first Council of State in the Great Hall.
Elizabeth's successor, King James I, did not like the palace. It was included in the jointure estate of his wife Anne of Denmark. In 1607, King James gave it to his chief minister, Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, in exchange for Theobalds, which was the Cecils' family home on the current site of Cedars Park, Broxbourne. Cecil, who liked building, tore down three wings of the royal palace (the back and sides of the square) in 1608 and used the bricks to build the present house.