Hatfield House

We finally visited the inside of Hatfield House (above) last weekend. It was built in 1611 by the First Earl of Salisbury using bricks from the Royal Palace at Hatfield. One wing of the old palace (left) remains. It was built in 1497 by Cardinal Morton. I do not know where he got his bricks. Henry VIII took the palace along with other booty when he was separated England from the Roman Catholics. All of his children lived in the old palace at some point: Edward in his childhood, Mary in her teens when she was made to serve as Elizabeth's lady after being declared illegitimate, and Elizabeth most of her life prior to her ascension. She was living there when she learned she was Queen and held first Council of State in the palace's Great Hall in 1558.

The house is the current residence of the 7th Marquess of Salisbury and contains an almost absurd amount of impressive artifacts and portraits from early modern through contemporary England including the Rainbow and Ermine Portraits of Elizabeth I. The contributions of the Cecil family to the history of England are also too numerous to recount here, but I feel obliged to mention one in particular: Lord Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. He served as Prime Minister for 13 years under Victoria and Edward VII. He not only inspired the huge statue at the entrance to the great park on which Hatfield House is situated, but he is thought by some to be the inspiration for the phrase 'Bob's your uncle' from when he appointed his nephew to Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1887.

Thursday last, we saw Thelma Holt's and the Oxford University Dramatic Society's production of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors in the Banqueting Hall of the old palace. Our recent viewing of the family photos in the house helped us to recognise that Lord and Lady Salisbury were in attendance. The performance was a clever contemporary interpretation the merged live music, recorded sound and music, meta-reference, immersion, and slow-motion acting elements into it. These elements brought a freshness into the production while still respecting the language and essence of the original. Artemas Froushan and Samuel Plumb as Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse managed to distinguish themselves despite the magnificently strong ensemble. What a treat!



Photo Credits

Hatfield House: Wikimedia Commons

Old Palace: Trish and Craig Hammond

Gate Statue: Wikimedia Commons

Comedy of Errors: getSURREY

Banqueting Hall Ceiling: Victor Naumenko