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Summary

16th century mansion incorporating a 14th century stone hall; demolished in 1774

Monument Types

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

Protected Status

• A Sites

Full description

Nyn Hall was the manor house of Northaw, which belonged to St Albans Abbey from the 11th century until the Dissolution. A stone-built medieval hall of five bays, each bay with a gabled window of three cusped ogee-headed lights, and so probably dating to the early 14th century, was incorporated into a magnificent Tudor mansion, built after 1576 for Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick (but see <9>). This building contained a hall, standing over cellars or a basement, with two-storeyed bays at each end of the hall; a block built at right-angles to this linked the hall range to the medieval building, and this was faced, at the opposite end of the hall range, by a squarish or perhaps L-shaped range, with gabled dormer windows, apparently dating to the early or mid 17th century. Similar windows in the main hall range were probably added at this period; the work was probably carried out by William Leman, who bought the manor in 1632. The Tudor mansion was demolished in 1774, probably because it was so large and sprawling that it did not easily permit contraction <1, 2>. <3> locates the medieval and Tudor houses at about the given NGR, on the basis of 19th century maps and descriptions, including a late 19th century account stating that according to the then owner the remains of the moat were still visible, and the foundations of the Tudor mansion could be traced under the lawns in front of the house 'in certain phases of weather'. Plans of the house and garden at that date show the more substantial area of lawns lay on the east side of the house.
The new, small manor house, built sometime between 1811 and 1822, was therefore adjacent to the old site, and changes gradually took place in the early-mid 1800s including enlargement of the pond and development of the gardens and kitchen garden. This house was enlarged before 1874, possibly by the architect Arthur Blomfield, and substantial improvements and enlargements took place between 1874 and 1894. After World War II the property fell into disrepair, and the gardens became disused. The house was gutted by fire on 12 April 1963; dangerous parts of the structure were pulled down but part of it stood until 1993.
The estate was bought in 1968 by Major Russell Dore, who built a small timber house to live in and planted many trees; in 1986 he bequeathed it to Haileybury School <6>.
A cellar constructed of what appear to be Tudor bricks (45mm thick) was destroyed in advance of piling for a new building in July 2009 <8>; many of the trees have been cut down and the parkland opened up once more.
For Nyn Park, see [15020], and for Nyn Manor Farm, see [30269].

<1> Information from John Lee, East Herts Archaeological Society (Unpublished document). SHT5111.

<2> Smith, J T, 1993, Hertfordshire houses: selective inventory, - p134-5 (Bibliographic reference). SHT16660.

<3> Borthwick, Alison, & Chandler, John, 1998, Nyn Park, Northaw, Herts; the historical and archaeological background to reinstatement, RNO 174 (Unpublished document). SHT467.

<4> Smith, J T, 1992, English houses 1200-1800: the Hertfordshire evidence, - p16-17, 132 (Bibliographic reference). SHT16661.

<5> Planning application documents, Includes copies of old photos (Graphic material). SHT8908.

<6> Graham, Malcolm, 1999, Nyn: a short history; Herts Countryside vol.54, no.477 (Feb 1999), 23-7 (Article in serial). SHT1213.

<7> Rowe, Anne, 2008, Notes on the sixteenth-century history of Nyn Hall (Unpublished document). SHT2525.

<8> Information, G Goodall (HBRC), 16.7.2009 (Verbal communication). SHT8668.

<9> Harris, Oliver, 2003, Nyn Hall, Northaw: an alternative history; Herts Archaeology 13 (1997-2003), 99-100 (Article in serial). SHT1746.

Sources and further reading

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