Holdenby House

The house was completed in 1583 by the Elizabethan Lord Chancellor, Sir Christopher Hatton, who refused to sleep a night in the mansion until Queen Elizabeth I had slept there. Thomas Heneage stayed at Holdenby in July 1583, and wrote to Hatton, congratulating him on the completion of "the best house that hath been built in this age". It was one of the largest prodigy houses of the Tudor period, rivalling in size both Audley End and Theobalds, and was reputed to occupy approximately 78,750 square feet (7,300 m²), although this probably included the two great courtyards around which it was built. The facades were symmetrical, with mullioned windows and open Doric arcades, reflecting the…