Holdenby House and Gardens

Holdenby House, now stands at only one eighth of its original size. Built in 1583 by Queen Elizabeth I’s Lord Chancellor Sir Christopher Hatton, it was the largest palace in Elizabethan England at the time.

Palace to King James I and then prison to his son King Charles I after his defeat in the Civil War, Holdenby then fell into the hands of a Parliamentarian after Charles’ execution, who demolished the majority of the palace and sold off the stone which built an entire street in Northampton and nearby Coton Manor.

Now a much-loved family home, Holdenby House is used for exclusive events and its Grade I listed gardens and on-site Icarus Falconry Centre are open seasonally.

Holdenby House is also home to an award-winning Heritage Education Team that offer in character historical education visits and an outdoor education programme focusing on the flora, fauna and farming around the Holdenby Estate.