The Story of the Elizabethans - 2020

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Kirby Hall

A palatial ‘prodigy house’

Sir Christopher Hatton was Eliza-

beth’s nimble-footed Lord Chancel-

lor. Renowned for his dancing, he

first attracted the queen’s attention

when he took part in a masque early

in her reign. He began developing his

country house, Kirby Hall, in 1576.

When completed, it was one of the

finest examples of an Elizabethan

‘prodigy house’ – described by Ben

Jonson as “proud, ambitious heaps”,

built to impress. Though now empty

and partly roofless, this vast mansion

retains traces of the exceptionally

rich decoration that attracted

widespread admiration in Elizabeth’s

day. Once filled with music and

laughter, now the only sounds are

the cries of the peacocks that strut

around its beautiful ruins.

english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/

kirby-hall

Trac y Bor ma n is a Tudor historian and

author. Her books include Elizabeth’s

Women: The Hidden Story of the Virgin

Queen (Jonathan Cape, 2009)

The Great Hall at

Kirby Hall, partially

restored to

give a sense of

its grandeur

in its Elizabethan

heyday