Tyttenhanger Palace

Has been described as a Possible Palace (Royal)

There are no visible remains

NameTyttenhanger Palace
Alternative NamesTyttenhangar; Tytenhanger
Historic CountryHertfordshire
Modern AuthorityHertfordshire
1974 AuthorityHertfordshire
Civil ParishRidge

The manor of Tyttenhanger belonged to St Albans Abbey from before the Conquest (Smith); a house was built here by Abbot Richard (1326-35), and rebuilt by Abbot William Heyworth at the beginning of the 15C (Hunn 2004). Smith notes that the house was a place of resort for the abbots and for the entertainment of guests, and was large enough to enable Henry VIII and his queen (Katharine of Aragon) to stay for a fortnight in 1528. The manor was granted to Sir Thomas Pope in 1547. The present house (9669) was built by Sir Henry Blount in 1654-1660. The cellars appear to be earlier, and evaluation of the park south of the house found medieval outbuildings and a boundary ditch indicating that the earlier house stood on the same site (Percival and Richmond; Hunn)).

Survey of earthworks around the standing building found evidence of a medieval moat and fishponds (12764) (Percival and Richmond).

For the deer park, see 9972; for the medieval gatehouse and outbuildings, see 11784, 11786, and 12763. (Hertfordshire HER)

Gatehouse Comments

Large country house of the Abbot of St Alban's used by Henry VIII in 1528 as a refuge from the 'sweating sickness' then in London. Obtained by the crown in 1529 following the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey and used as a residence for infant Edward VI but sold in 1547. C17 house on probable site but some medieval remnants do remain. Royal occupation of the house was quite limited but this was a major house and deer park of the abbots of St Albans; the premier abbot of medieval England with power and wealth equivalent to a bishop.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceTL191046
Latitude51.7279510498047
Longitude-0.276369988918304
Eastings519140
Northings204660
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Cooper, Nicholas, 1999, Houses of the Gentry, 1480-1680 (Yale University Press) p. 242, 285, 304, 325
  • Thurley, Simon, 1993, The Royal Palaces of Tudor England (Yale University Press) p. 50, 67, 80
  • Smith, J.T., 1993, Hertfordshire houses: selective inventory (RCHME) p. 148-9
  • RCHME, 1910, An inventory of the historical monuments in Hertfordshire (London: HMSO) p. 173 online transcription
  • Page, Wm (ed), 1908, VCH Hertfordshire Vol. 8 p. 386-92 online transcription

Journals

  • Hunn, Jonathan, 2002, 'Tyttenhanger Park: the rise and fall of a manorial estate' Hertfordshire Past Vol. 52 p. 7-22

Other

  • Jonathan R Hunn. 2004. Tyttenhanger: excavation and survey in the parish of Ridge, Hertfordshire, undertaken by Archaeological Services & Consultancy Ltd.
  • Percival, J, and Richmond, A., 1996, Report on an archaeological field evaluation: Tyttenhanger quarry, St Albans, Herts. field evaluation. RNO 684