Holdenby
house
Once a palace, Holdenby house was built
in 1583 by Sir Christopher Hatton to entertain Elizabeth
I. When he died in 1591 he had amassed huge debts.
He was broke and pennyless. The palace passed to the
Crown to pay off those debts and became a popular choice
for King Charles
I who stayed there on a regular basis. For his
successor and son, James
I, it became a prison after his defeat in the
Civil war against Cromwell. Before the King could escape
he was removed by 500 of Cromwells soldiers and taken to
a safer place before being executed.
Holdenby Palace was the largest private house in England
with 123 huge windows but was soon to become just an
eigth of its size. The Palace was sold to a
parliamentarian, Adam Baynes, who reduced the palace down
to a single wing.
What can be seen today is the kitchen wing of the former
palace. After a brief return to royal ownership, the
house was bought by the Duke of Marlborough in 1709.
Daniel Defoe:
Near this town is the ancient royal house of Holmby, which was formerly in great esteem, and by its situation is capable of being made a royal palace indeed. But the melancholy reflection of the imprisonment of King Charles the First in this house, and his being violently taken hence again by the mutinous rebels, has cast a kind of odium upon the place, so that it has been, as it were, forsaken and uninhabited. The house and estate has been lately purchas'd by the Dutchess of Marlborough; but we do not see that the house is like to be built or repair'd, as was at first discours'd; on the contrary it goes daily to decay.
It has been passed down the
female line to its present owners, the Lowthers. A huge
20 acre grade 1 listed Elizabethan and Victorian garden
is open to the public and the house is now the setting of
many corporate functions and weddings. Interestingly, the
Lowthers can trace their history back to 940AD and have
produced more members of Parliament than any other family
in England. It's possible they had a member of parliament
in the castle when Northampton castle was home to
parliament.
Falconry displays take place
on each Sunday during the summer months. The trainers are
knowledgeable and eager to answer any questions. You can
even have your photo taken holding the birds. It's not
often anyone can get the chance to get this close to
birds of prey so it's well worth the visit.
