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15th April - 30th September; Gardens - Tuesday to Sunday 10am - 5.30pm, last admissions 5pm.
House - Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm, last admissions 4pm
East Gardens open only on Wednesday 11am - 4pm.
20 or more
Wed - Sun & BH Mons; 12pm - 5pm (last entry 4pm)
House, Park & West garden: Adult £19; Over 60s £18 Child £9 ; Group 20+ (advance only) £15
Park & West Garden: Adult £11.00; Child (5 - 15) £7.00; Over 60s £10.00.
East Garden extra charge £4 Wednesday only
Hatfield Park Farm & Bloody Hollow: Adult £5.00, Child £2.50
Dogs allowed in park only. Free parking. Restaurant and gift shop, a Children's play area and 5 Miles of Nature Trails. Many events, see own website. Plants for sale sometimes.
Today the garden to the West of the House, which includes the Herb, Knot and Wilderness areas can be seen when the House is open. All 42 acres, including the kitchen garden and the formal parterres to the east of the house leading down to the lake, are open on Thursdays. Summer Garden Show 30-31 May 2015. See website for details.
St. Michael Manor, St. Albans Sopwell House, St. Albans
Jarvis Comet Hotel, Hatfield White Horse Hotel, Hertingfordbury Bush Hall Hotel, Hatfield
The garden dates from the early 17th century when Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, employed John Tradescant the Elder to collect plants for his new home. Tradescant was sent across the Channel to mainland Europe where he found and brought back trees, bulbs, plants and fruit trees which had never previously been grown in England. This beautifully designed garden included orchards, elaborate fountains, scented plants, water parterres, terraces and herb gardens.
During the 18th century, when landscape gardening became more fashionable, much of his work was neglected or swept away. Lady Gwendolen Cecil, younger daughter of Prime Minister Salisbury designed the West Garden as it is today. Visitors can see the knot garden adjoining the Old Palace of Hatfield where Elizabeth I spent her childhood. The East Garden was laid out by the 5th Marquess of Salisbury.
Originally laid out in the years after the building of the House in 1611 by John Tradescant, who was sent by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury to collect plants from many parts of Europe. Restored in the 19th and 20th centuries to its original Jacobean layout after the landscaping fashion had swept over it in the 18th century.
In the garden can be found the Great Hall, the only surviving part of the Royal Palace of Hatfield (1485) where Elizabeth I spent some of her childhood. It is now known as the Old Palace and is much used for entertaining, recalling its original function.