Hatfield House

Hatfield House, a large and impressive Jacobean house in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, set close to the Great North Road, in easy reach of London. The house was completed in 1611 and has been occupied ever since by members of the Cecil family—successive generations of Robert Cecil’s (chief minister of King James I) descendants, the earls and marquesses of Salisbury.

The house was built on the site of the Old Royal Palace of Hatfield, which dates to 1497. This palace, the remains of which are within the grounds of the main house, are where Queen Elizabeth I spent much of her youth. There is an oak tree in the grounds, beneath which, so the (unlikely) story goes, she was sitting demurely reading an improving book in 1558 when a delegation came from London to tell her that her sister, Queen Mary I, had died and that Elizabeth was now queen. King James I later gave the house to Robert Cecil, who tore down most of the palace and built the present Hatfield House.

The Cecils have been prominent in the country’s political history since the 16th century. Robert Cecil, who died only a year after Hatfield was completed, was the son of Sir William Cecil, chief minister of Elizabeth I. Centuries later, Hatfield was the country seat of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd marquess of Salisbury, who was prime minister three times in the 1880s and 1890s, and of the 5th marquess, who served as a minister in the governments of Winston Churchill. His sons included Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1937, and Lord David Cecil, a well-known author and critic.

Hatfield’s connection to Elizabeth I, however, holds the greatest fascination for visitors. The Rainbow Portrait and The Ermine Portrait of Elizabeth are in the main house, along with her hat, gloves, and a pair of her silk stockings, thought to be the first hosiery of its kind in England.