Much Hadham House is a manor house adjacent to the church in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, formerly belonging to the Bishops of London. It is a Grade II* listed building.

History

The house was originally established as the home of the Bishops of London before the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

in 1066. The home of Owen Tudor and his wife, Catherine of Valois, it became the birthplace of their son,

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

in about 1430. The present house, which dates to the early 16th century, was sequestrated during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

in 1647 and then reverted to the Bishop of London at the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. It became a

lunatic asylum The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...

in 1817 until it passed back to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1868. It was sold as a private house in 1888 and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it became the home of Major Sir Edward Beddington-Behrens. The house is now a terrace of three homes, Palace House, Palace East and Palace West which are today in private ownership.

References

{{coord, 51.8578485, 0.0762391, format=dms, type:landmark, display=title Country houses in Hertfordshire Houses completed in the 16th century Timber framed buildings in Hertfordshire Episcopal palaces in England Grade II* listed buildings in Hertfordshire Much Hadham