Hatfield Forest - History

History

There is no written record of exactly when Hatfield was established as a Royal Forest, but records suggest it was sometime between 1086 and 1225. In 1238 Henry III (while retaining hunting rights) gave the land and trees to Isobel of Huntingdon, daughter of the Earl of Chester. She married into the Bruce family and the Forest remained in their hands until Robert the Bruce had his English lands confiscated by Edward I in 1306. On his death it was given by Edward II to the de Bohun family. The right to venison (deer meat) stayed with the King, but the rights to the wood and soil belonged to the de Bohuns, until 1446 when the family was given the right to the deer as well, shortly after they had been awarded the Dukedom of Buckingham. In 1521, however, the third Duke, the third DukeEdward Stafford was beheaded by Henry VIII and the Forest reverted to the Crown. After Henry’s death, Edward VI granted the forest to Sir Richard Rich. In 1592 the family sold their interest in the Forest to Lord Morley and in 1612 sold the rest of their Hatfield estate, including the lordship of the manor to Sir Francis Barrington. This resulted in a succession of disputes over ownership and rights in the Forest for the next 200 years. In 1729 it was purchased by the Houblon family. They were a wealthy family, originally from Lille in Flanders (now northern France) and included the first Governor of the Bank of England in 1694. While leaving the traditional woodland management techniques little changed, the Houblons probably sought the help of Capability Brown . As a result the lake was created and exotic trees planted (i.e. trees not native to Essex). A picnic house was constructed overlooking the lake and this was decorated using British and tropical shells by Laetia Houblon and this ‘Shell House’ can still be visited today.

It stayed in the hands of the Houblon family until 1923, when Edward North Buxton bought the Forest from his deathbed and gave it to the National Trust .