The entrance gateway, close to the churchyard, leads to what are now the
stables of Hatfield House, a fine red-brick structure, once the
banqueting-hall of the Bishop's Palace. This building, with its fine
open timber roof, is perhaps the only example of its kind in England
used as a stable.

Hatfield House is one of the most perfect and magnificent of Elizabethan
mansions in the kingdom. It was built by the first Earl of Salisbury in
1611, and is practically unaltered. The fine oak panelling and carving,
the plaster ceilings, and much of the furniture, all remain as they were
in the days of the great Lord Burleigh. The great hall, with its
splendid timber roof, and the gallery, with a fine collection of
pictures and curios, are two striking features. The staircase is
magnificent in design and detail, and is furnished with gates at the
bottom, placed there originally for preventing the dogs from wandering
upstairs.

The paintings in the hall and other rooms in Hatfield House include
portraits of the great Burleigh, Sir Robert and other Cecils, by Lely
and Kneller; Henry VIII., Anne Boleyn, Mary Queen of Scots, the Earl of
Leicester, and Queen Elizabeth.

[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

HATFIELD HOUSE.]



RUNNYMEAD, THE SIGNING OF MAGNA CHARTA