Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace), located in Theobalds Park, just outside Cheshunt in the English county of Hertfordshire, was a prominent stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries.
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The manor was originally called Cullynges, later Tongs (after William de Tongge), and since 1440, Thebaudes, Tibbolds and finally Theobalds. The original house was surrounded by a moat.[1] A new house was built between 1564 and 1585 to the order of Lord Burghley the most trusted and senior councillor of Elizabeth I, the location desirable in that it lay just off the main road north from London to Ware. Burghley's intention in building the mansion was partly to demonstrate his increasingly dominant status at the Royal Court, and also to provide a palace fine enough to accommodate the Queen on her visits.[2] The formal gardens of the house were modelled after the Château de Fontainebleau in France, the English botanist John Gerard acting as their superintendent. The Queen visited eight times between 1572 and 1596.
In 1607 the house passed in ownership from Robert Cecil, who had inherited it from his father, to James I, who exchanged Theobalds House for the nearby Hatfield Palace, which Cecil promptly demolished to make way for a new "building project" designed to entice the King to stay. Theobalds House quickly became a favourite country seat of the King James I of England (James VI of Scotland), who eventually died within its walls on March 27, 1625. With the execution in 1649 of James I's son, Charles I, Theobalds was listed amongst other royal properties for disposal by the Commonwealth. This was achieved speedily and by the end of 1650, the house was largely demolished, but it was rebuilt after the Restoration and came to be in possession of George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle.
It was given by King William III to William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland. Theobalds House was replaced in the Georgian period by yet another stately mansion, known as Theobalds Park after the estate on which it stands, and which still survives. It is about a mile to the north west of the original palace. This was built by George Prescott, a merchant and MP who had bought the estate from the 3rd Duke of Portland in 1763. Theobalds Park passed from the Prescott family to the Meux family of brewery fame in about 1820, and they made alterations and added extensions during the 19th century. These included a remodelled entrance based on Sir Christopher Wren's Temple Bar, which had been dismantled and stored in a yard at Farringdon Road. In 1888, it caught the eye of Lady Meux (formerly a banjo-playing barmaid); the gateway was purchased from the City of London and the 400 tons of stone was transported by horse-drawn carts to Theobalds Park, where it was carefully rebuilt. Lady Meux often entertained in the gateway's upper chamber; guests included King Edward VII and Winston Churchill.[3]
In 1910 the estate was inherited by Admiral The Hon Sir Hedworth Meux, a member of the aristocratic Lambton family; he changed his surname as a condition of inheritance. After his death in 1929, the house was a hotel for some years. During World War II, the house was used by the Royal Artillery and then by the Metropolitan Police as a riding school. In 1951, it became a secondary school and after 1969, an adult education centre.[4] It is now a DeVere Venues hotel and conference centre.[5]
The Temple Bar had remained in the hands of the trustees of the Meux family estate and despite its status as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, had lapsed into decay. After a long campaign, it was decided to return it to the City in 2001. The arch was again dismantled, and was reconstructed on a site next to St Paul’s Cathedral. The project was completed in November 2004,[6] and a commemorative plaque was placed in Theobalds Park.[7]