Hatfield House

While we were on holiday in the UK we visited Hatfield House Estate. The original Old Palace was built in 1497 by the Minister of King Henry VII, John Morton. In 1509 when Henry the VIII was crowned the Palace came into the King's hands and became the primary residence for his children. Fifty or so years later Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, decided to tear most of the Old Palace down and build a new bigger and 'better' one next door, in the Jacobean style. Although most of the Old Palace was pulled down the Grand Hall is thankfully still standing. It is spectacular from both the inside ...

... and the outside. I love the rich red/brown colour of the bricks.

The stable yard has recently been refurbished. I really like the inky blue paint that was used to stain the timber. It matches the blue/grey bricks used to create patterns in the facades (see above).

When I say visiting, I should probably explain that we only saw a tiny part of the grounds, apart from the Grand Hall we saw the stable and coach yard where the shops are. Our daughter had just had a pretty aggressive tummy bug and this was our first outing in a few days. She was very wobbly on her feet and only managed to walk from the car to the café. No cream cakes for her though!

Hatfield House website cane be found here.

Another BBONTHEBRINK post that features 'Bricks bricks Bricks'.