Day trip from London:
HATFIELD HOUSE

On a sweltering Sunday in July, I am meeting my friend Andrew at Hatfield House. Over the almost-twenty years I have known him, he often mentioned this stately home, both as a tourist attraction and a concert hall where he regularly performs with his choir. I am finally visiting this place of enormous royal importance as well as decorative grandeur.
The journey from my East London home is very easy, Victoria line to Finsbury Park and then a regional train towards Welwyn Garden City. Hatfield train station, approximately 30 minutes from Finsbury Park, is directly opposite the main gate of the palace. The owner of the estate, the Marquess of Salisbury, allowed the railway to go through his land but with the small condition of the station being built right in front of his gate. Although members of the highest echelons of the British aristocracy, the Marquess and his family still travel to London by train from this station.
Hatfield House is also a very popular filming location, and it provided a fascinating background to famous movies such as The Favourite, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sherlock Holmes, Sleepy Hollow, Paddington, The King’s Speech, Orlando, as well as the series The Crown, and this is just to mention a few well-known cinematographic productions.



We arrive before opening times, but Andrew knows a secret zig-zagging route through residential streets and then a side gate that takes us straight to the main house. The café in the yard is already open and we start our visit with a shot of caffeine.
The Hatfield House Estate consists of the Old Palace, the “newer”, Jacobean style mansion, impressively landscaped gardens and a large forest of oak and hornbeam trees, horse chestnuts and firs. Princess Elizabeth was sitting under an oak tree on this estate when she found out that her sister Mary (known to history as Bloody Mary) was dead and that she was now the Queen.
Andrew booked us on a tour of The Old Palace that was built sometime around 1485 and Henry VIII bought it in 1538. Our humorous and knowledgeable tour guide talks about the origins of the palace, its famous inhabitants and shares with us some rather interesting odds and ends of royal history. Never before did I realise that the large portraits of European upper-class families are in fact the equivalent of today’s business cards. When barons, marquesses, earls and other noble titles visited their counterparts across Europe, they brought their portrait as a gift and the host was obliged to hang it somewhere (well at least when that person visited them again). Something like a historic forerunner of Facebook…



Henry VIII used this place as a nursery for his three children and this is where Princess Elizabeth was held under house arrest during the reign of her Catholic sister, Mary. Next to the wall with portraits of Henry VIII and his six wives, our guide delivers a passionate speech. According to him “all of this, the establishment of the Church of England, the divorces and beheadings were manifestation of a desperate quest for a male heir. And Henry only ever loved Katherine of Aragon and stayed with her 24 years. Had she produced a son, the Church of England would not have existed.” Neither would the theatre smash hit SIX that I recently went to see. I find it hard to believe that Henry loved her…but our tour guide is a man after all and might have a different perspective on a man’s desperate wish to have a son, whatever it takes… Of course, he is also a specialist in the subject…
Next, we visit the banqueting hall, when Andrew and his choir have sung on various occasions and where weddings regularly take place. It’s a large room with original roof timbers and walls covered in decorative tapestries. Although the tapestries are laser-printed reproductions, they are still fascinating.



Now we are ready for the “new” house. The first thing that comes into our view is the large modern sculpture Renaissance by Angela Conner in front of the main entrance. It’s a stainless-steel piece of art involving water and slow movement. The contemporary meets history and it creates an eclectically perfect match.
The present Hatfield house was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, direct ancestor to today’s owners. This house is an example of so-called “prodigy house”. I have to admit, in my twenty years in this country, this is the first time I have heard this term. It basically means a showoff estate of the wealthiest people in the country. This one certainly has a lot to show off: it’s massive, it’s glamorous, it’s decorated with historical portraits, sculptures and ornaments. Elizabeth I’s rainbow portrait is the highlight of the reception room as well as my personal favourite. In this rather fascinating piece of portraiture, the subject was already in her sixties, but she looks much much younger, almost ageless. I guess, when one is a Queen, the realistic depiction of one’s real age is rather irrelevant. Like all those photoshopped images of today pop culture…



Walking through the rooms of Hatfield house is like walking through the rich British royal history as well as some of the most fascinating costume dramas. In the Library I can see Olivia Colman in her larger-than-life interpretation of Queen Anne. The guide to this room, a charming old man, tells us all about the hugs he was getting from Emma Stone during the filming. He also emphasises that everyone on these premises is fully paid by the owners of the estate. I guess that would explain their enthusiasm, knowledge and friendly manner. Everyone is eager to make our experience as enjoyable and fun as possible. I like the story of lost marble bathtub that was used as a watering trough for horses on a nearby farm. I am a big fan of kitchens, and the Hatfield house kitchen, pantry and scullery are very impressive. I just wish I could decipher the old recipes and menus that are on display…



After the house, we head to its ornamented gardens, known for its topiary sculptures. Basically, topiary garden is a form of landscaping in order to train a plant to develop into different forms, such as arches, or even animals. We stroll through the orchard, the scented plants areas, the fountains and a rather large sundial clock.



A visit to Hatfield House would not be complete without a walk through the surrounding fields and forests, which in medieval times were a hunting playground for the owners and their visitors. There are three options: the shortest walk is 40 minutes long and the longest 90. We opt for the one in the middle – the one that should last approximately 60 minutes. The route takes us through an impressive forest of tall trees and manicured paths, a breezier area by the lake, popular with picnics, and then to the highlight of all the walks – the oak tree that Elizabeth II planted on the very spot were the old oak stood.



As I had back to London on a hot and humid afternoon, I gather my impressions. Hatfield House is not just an amazing palace, but also a lesson in British royal history as well as a way of escapism, because these kinds of places seem and are as far removed as it gets from normal life on the British Isles or anywhere else…
All together, a perfectly spent day. Thank you, Andrew!