Brocket Hall
Brocket Hall is a country house in Hertfordshire , England , about 35 km from London .
history
It's a large, neoclassical brick building in a beautiful park. The interior of the house is kept simple, but the main stairs and grand saloon are impressive. Sir Matthew Lamb, 1st Baronet , bought the property in 1746. He built the country house in 1760 according to the plans of the architect Sir James Paine . It stands on the site of its two predecessors, the first of which was built in 1239 and the second in around 1430. The latter was home to Sir John Brockett , a wealthy spice importer and captain of Queen Elizabeth I's life guard , around 1553 .
Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne inherited the estate from his father and was often visited there by the Prince Regent George IV , who had a liaison with Lady Elizabeth Lamb, Viscountess Melbourne . The next heir was William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne , who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom under Queen Victoria from 1835 to 1841 and was visited several times by the Queen at Brocket Hall. His wife, Lady Caroline , had an infamous affair with Lord Byron that embarrassed Lord Melbourne. On one of his birthdays, she held a state banquet in the Brocket Hall saloon, and as a surprise, a course was served in a large silver bowl; when the lid was lifted, she appeared in complete nakedness.
On his death his sister Emily , whose second husband was another Prime Minister, Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston , inherited the estate. Palmerston died while he was still in office, rumored to be on the pool table, hugging a housekeeper (his nickname was Cupid ). The estate was bequeathed to Emily's grandson from her first marriage, Francis Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper , but his younger brother Henry († 1887) lived in Brocket Hall.
In 1893, Lord Mount Stephen , originally from Montreal , rented Brocket Hall from the 7th Earl Cowper for the rest of his life. The Mount Stephens met Brocket Hall because the first Lady Mount Stephen was a close friend of Georgina Gascoyne-Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury , who lived on the neighboring estate at Hatfield House . For the next three years, Prince Edward VII , Prince Arthur and Princess Mary Adelaide were welcome guests.
A year after the death of his first wife († 1896), Mount Stephen married Gian Tufnell, the maid of Princess Mary Adelaide, who advocated this marriage. Gian was a friend and confidante of her daughter, Maria von Teck , the wife of King George V , and the Mount Stephens were regular guests of the royal couple.
After the death of the 7th Earl Cowper († 1905), the building was bequeathed to his niece, but she died only one year after him († 1906), so that her husband Lord Walter Kerr , who lived in Melbourne Hall , took over the estate inherited it and put it up for sale in 1921.
In 1923 Sir Charles Nall-Cain bought the building long before he was raised to the nobility as Baron Brocket in 1933 . The building served as a maternity hospital during World War II. In the late 20th century, Charles Nall-Cain, 3rd Baron Brocket , sold his property to the Hong Kong-based CCA (Club Corporation of Asia) for 60 years. The company converted Brocket Hall into a hotel and conference center and built a second 18-hole golf course (Palmerston Course). Additional facilities include the Faldo Golf Institute and the Auberge du Lac restaurant , where celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli used to cook and which has a Michelin star.
Brocket Hall has been the location of film and TV productions including Johnny English - Now All the More! , The Queen , Willow and Pride and Prejudice .
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 51 ° 48 ′ 10 ″ N , 0 ° 14 ′ 25.6 ″ W.