Hatfield House, built in 1611, is considered one of England's best Jacobean houses. But its chief glory is its history and in the remains of a 1485 Bishop's Palace, in the gardens. Here, Henry VIII housed his children, Mary, Elizabeth and Edward, when he seized the possessions of the Church. When her sister Mary was Queen, Elizabeth lived here under virtual house arrest. She was under a tree in the garden, in 1558, when she received news that Mary was dead and she was to be crowned Queen Elizabeth I.
Highlight: The red brick, Tudor Banqueting Hall is where Elizabeth I held her first council of state.