Hunsdon House
| Hunsdon House | |
| Hertfordshire | |
|---|---|
 Hunsdon House from the churchyard | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL41911274 |
| Location: | 51°47’43"N, -0°3’23"E |
| History | |
| Built 15th century, 1860 | |
| For: | Sir William Oldhall |
| Country house | |
| Tudor | |
| Information | |
Hunsdon House is a historic house in Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, north-west of Harlow.
The house was originally built in the 15th century. In the reign of King Henry VIII, it was a royal estate and the King made the house very grand indeed: it has however been altered and rebuilt several times since then, and no longer has anything like the grandeur that King Henry gave the house.
The house of today is a Grade I listed building.[1]
History
Early history
Hunsdon House was originally constructed of brick in 1447 by Sir William Oldhall in the shape of a tower, but as Oldhall supported the House of York during the Wars of the Roses, he was stripped of the property by the Lancastrian King, Henry VI. When the Yorkist Edward IV took the throne in 1471, the land was returned to the Oldhall family. John Oldhall then died in the Battle of Bosworth fighting for Richard III and with the Lancastrians back in power, in the form of the victorious Tudor Dynasty, the estate was forfeit once more to the Crown.[2]
King Henry VII gave the estate to his mother, Margaret Beaufort in return for Old Soar Manor in Kent in 1503.[3] After the deaths of Margaret and her husband Edmund Tudor, her son the King gave it to Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk in 1514.[2] Howard's son reduced the height of the tower for safety reasons in 1524.[4]
Tudor era
King Henry VIII retook possession of the estate in 1525 after Howard's death, and he set about expanding the house into a palatial estate in the Tudor style, complete with royal apartments and even a moat.[4]
Although the King visited frequently and enjoyed hunting in the deerpark,[5] the house was mainly used for his children. Prince Edward (who was to reign lamentably briefly as King Edward VI) spent much time at Hunsdon, most famously in 1546 when his portrait was painted with the house in the background.[4] Princess Mary (who was later to reign mercifully briefly as Queen Mary I) lived at Hunsdon until her accession to the throne.[6] She even inherited the house in her father's will and kept it until her death.[2] In 1559, Queen Elizabeth I granted the house and estate to Henry Carey and ennobled him as the first Baron Hunsdon.[5]
Recent centuries
The manor stayed in the Carey family for over 100 years, after which it passed to the Bluck family and then the Calvert family.[2] Much of Henry VIII's expansions were torn down in the early 17th century, and the moat was filled at some time in the 18th century.[6]
The house was rebuilt at the beginning of the 19th century, but 1860 renovations by Nicolson Calvert changed much of the architecture to an Elizabethan style.[2][7]
One last renovation in 1983 revealed some of the 15th-century brickwork. The current house is less than a quarter of its size under Henry VIII.[4]
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1347687: Hunsdon House
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Thorne, James: 'Handbook to the Environs of London' (J. Murray, 1876) pages 373–74
- ↑ Emery, Anthony: 'Greater Mediæval Houses of England and Wales, 1300-1500: Volume 3, Southern England' (Cambridge University Press) ISBN 9780521581325; page 384
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Ford, Michael (1999). "Hunsdon: Henry VIII's Great Tudor House". Historic Hertfordshire. Britannia.com. http://britannia.com/history/chouses/hunsdon.html. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Village History: Hunsdon Parish Council
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Neale, John Preston; Moule, Thomas (1822). Views of the seats of noblemen and gentlemen, in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Sherwood, Jones and Co.. p. 86. https://books.google.com/books?id=0JEZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT86. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ↑ Prince, Hugh C. (2008). Parks in Hertfordshire Since 1500. University of Hertfordshire Press. p. 175. ISBN 9780954218997. https://books.google.com/books?id=mOYyyPCRbuYC&pg=PA175. Retrieved 19 December 2012.