If you think this information is inaccurate please e-mail corrections to Hertfordshire HER .

Summary

Mid 15th century high-status tower house in brick, extended by Henry VIII and with a long history of later alterations, notably in the early 19th century

Monument Types

• COUNTRY HOUSE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• MANOR HOUSE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• PALACE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Events

• Monitoring of groundworks for security gate at Hunsdon House, 2007
• Monitoring at Hunsdon House, Church Lane, Hunsdon, 2014 (Ref: N)

Protected Status

• Sensitivity Map: hunsdon house
• SHINE: Medieval Manor House, Hunsdon House, Hunsdon
• Area of Archaeological Significance

Full description

Early brick house. Building started c.1447, by Richard Duke of York, and was completed by Sir William Oldhall, 1455-8 <1>. It was acquired by Henry VIII in 1529-30 and greatly altered and extended. It remained a royal palace until 1559, when Elizabeth I granted it to Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon. Its subsequent history is one of many changes. The main events include its acquisition in 1745 by J Nicolson, who pulled down much of it, and further substantial alterations and additions by Nicholson Calvert between 1804-10 <3>.
The 1745 sale was to a prosperous Clapham brewer, Josias Nicholson, who died the same year; the house passed to his grandson Nicholson Calvert, also a brewer, who lived here until his death in 1793 and removed two wings which may never have been completed. This reduced the house to the size it was before Henry VIII's additons. His son, also Nicholson Calvert, was persuaded by his wife to build a 'new' house, while they lived elsewhere on the estate; Hunsdon House was rebuilt by William Leach, incorporating original elements, and finished in 1818. The stableyard may date to c.1830, when Mrs Calvert noted in her diary that the old stables had been pulled down. The standing buildings agree with this date. The Calverts lived at Hunsdon House until after Nicholson's death in 1841 when the family moved to the rectory and renamed it Hunsdonbury [18463]. In 1858 the house was sold, in poor condition, to James Walker of Hunsdonbury who shortly afterwards sold it to an East India merchant, James Wyllie, who added eastern elements. In 1882 it was sold again, to the brewer Spencer Charrington <6>.
Drawings by Robert Clutterbuck of the house as it appeared in 1758 survive in HALS and are reproduced in <7, 8>; see <8> for an account of the house and its gardens, with many historical views and photographs and a summary of surviving historic features in the grounds (which still cover 87 acres). 'Significant traces of the earlier pleasure grounds remain' <8>.

The east end and cellars beneath the present house are 15th century. Excavations SW of the house found Tudor walls, and 18th century walls in the gardens <1>. Work in the south garden revealed a vaulted chamber with a brick and red tile floor, and a well in the corner. The brickwork of the chamber appears to be contemporary with the earliest in the house, c.1450 <5>. The unpublished pottery assemblage is noted by <4>.
For the deerpark see [6551], and for a possible outer courtyard, see [18818].

Cal. Pat. Rolls Henry VI, 1446-52, - p77 (Unpublished document). SHT2303.

Cal. Pat. Rolls Henry VI, 1452-61, - p34 (Unpublished document). SHT1523.

Hassheley, Hector, Declaration accounting for expenditure at Hunsdon House 1525-1534. PRO E101/465/20 (Unpublished document). SHT1015.

Hart Archaeological Unit Newsletter, Autumn 1985 (Serial). SHT4076.

OS Records (Index). SHT8223.

Nedeham, James, 1536-42, Accounts of the Royal Surveyor of Works: Particular book of annual repairs. Bodl MSS RAWL 780, 781 (Unpublished document). SHT8577.

HCC Planning Dept, 1979-82, Historic parklands and gardens in Hertfordshire; record sheets & supplementary material (Unpublished document). SHT8294.

Poole, Helen, 1992, Hunsdon House (Unpublished document). SHT4372.

Murray, Jon, 1993, Hunsdon House stable yard: an initial archaeological evaluation, RNO 389; Drapentier drawing, c1700 (Report). SHT4678.

Hillman-Crouch, Barry J, 2014, Hunsdon House, Eastwick Road, Hunsdon, Hertfordshire SG12 8PP: watching brief on a conservatory foundation in the stable yard, RNO 3872 (Report). SHT18122.

Anon, c.1988, Hunsdon House, Ware: the restoration of Hunsdon House as a family residence (Unpublished document). SHT4371.

Anon, n.d., Hunsdon House: historical background (Unpublished document). SHT4378.

Anon, n.d., Hunsdon House: the archaeological excavations (Unpublished document). SHT4373.

Anon, n.d., Hunsdon House: the architectural context (Unpublished document). SHT4375.

<1> Partridge, Clive, 1984, Excavations at Hunsdon House: an interim report; Herts Past 17 (autumn 1984), 15-24 (Article in serial). SHT4224.

<2> Colvin, H M (ed.), 1982, The history of the King's works; vol.IV (1485-1660), Pt II, p154-7 (Bibliographic reference). SHT9952.

<3> Smith, J T, 1993, Hertfordshire houses: selective inventory (Bibliographic reference). SHT16660.

<4> Irving, Anne, 2011, A research framework for post-Roman ceramic studies in Britain, - p38 (Bibliographic reference). SHT3934.

<5> Partridge, Clive, 1986, Hunsdon House - recent work in the south garden; East Herts Archaeol Soc Newsletter 8 (Sept 1986), 3 (Article in serial). SHT7609.

<6> Murphy, Tim, 2013, Hunsdon House, Hertfordshire: heritage impact assessment (Unpublished document). SHT8141.

<7> Spring, Deborah, 2015, Researching Hunsdon and compiling a Local List entry; Hertfordshire Gardens Trust Newsletter (autumn 2015), 7-10 (Article in serial). SHT5611.

<8> Spring, Deborah, 2014, The history of the park and gardens at Hunsdon House (Unpublished document). SHT17927.

Sources and further reading

Related records

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.