Hatfield House (Hatfield)
Hatfield House is a stunning Jacobean mansion, and one of England`s most impressive stately homes, and is situated at Hatfield in Hertfordshire.
The main entrance to the Park is opposite Hatfield Station.
It was built between 1608 and 1612 for Robert Cecil, the first Earl of Salisbury, and has remained the Cecil family home ever since.
The house has an outstanding collection of pictures, tapestries, furnishings and historic armour.
The formal gardens were begun in 1611, when John Tradescant the Elder was employed to collect plants. There is a scented garden, a herb garden and a knot garden, as well as parterres, topiary and rare plants.
Within the grounds stands The Old Palace. The future Elizabeth I spent much of her childhood here, in effect a prisoner, as had her half-sister Mary I. Under Elizabeth`s Oak she learned of her accession in 1558, and she held her first Council of State in the palace.