Hinxworth Place is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

near

Hinxworth Hinxworth is a village and civil parish in North Hertfordshire, England. It sits just off the Great North Road between Baldock and Biggleswade. It has a village hall, a park, a pub, a small church, a bus stop and a post box. The population at th ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Formerly the Manor of Pulters, building was started c. 1390. The construction is of

clunch Clunch is a traditional building material of chalky limestone rock used mainly in eastern England and Normandy. Clunch distinguishes itself from archetypal forms of limestone by being softer in character when cut, such as resembling chalk in low ...

with loose

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

filling cavities in the lower part of the walls. There is 16th century decoration painted directly onto the stonework in one of the upper rooms. It was once owned by John Ward, son of Richard Ward, who was

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

for one month in 1484. After his death it passed to John Lambard, master of the

Mercers' Company The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the premier Livery Company of the City of London and ranks first in the order of precedence of the Companies. It is the first of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies. Although of even older origin, the c ...

and

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The house was inhabited at one time by

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monks of

Pipewell Abbey Pipewell Abbey was an English Cistercian abbey, in the Northamptonshire hamlet of Pipewell in the old Rockingham Forest. It was established in 1143 by William Butevilain as a daughter house of Newminster Abbey in Northumberland. The Abbey also h ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. The Drury and Andrews map of 1766 shows an L-shaped building with three separate outbuildings with indication of an avenue and other plantings. The large spring fed pond to the south of the house is one of the sources of the

river Rhee The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to t ...

which is a major tributary of the

river Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...

. In the early part of the 20th century it was owned by Walter Sale who farmed but in the 1930s was compulsorily purchased by the county council who divided the land into four

smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

s each of about . The Sales remained tenants until 1949 by which time, the house having fallen into dereliction, it was sold to a banker who formed a syndicate of

professionals and artists (including the actor

Peter Copley Peter Copley (20 May 1915 – 7 October 2008) was an English television, film and stage actor. Biography Copley was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, son of the printmakers, John Copley and Ethel Gabain. After changing his mind about joining ...

) who renovated it. Hinxworth Place was divided and sold during the 1960s and the larger part of the property is now the home and workplace of the

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

John W Mills John William Mills (born 4 March 1933, London) is an English sculptor. He studied at Hammersmith School of Art, 1947–54, and at the Royal College of Art, 1956–60. He was a resident at Digswell House 1962–66, and currently lives at Hinxw ...

, a number of his works are displayed in the grounds.

Haunting of Hinxworth Place

Hinxworth Place has long been reputedly haunted. The main legend concerns the sound of thumps, screams, the sound of a baby crying, and of water coming from a pump – but this only takes place during stormy autumn evenings. The story behind the disembodied sounds is the accidental killing of a young boy by his nursemaid. Having dressed himself in a white sheet as a "

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

" for a joke, the child's terrified nurse screamed and struck at him with a poker, and he fell down a flight of stairs, the commotion awakening the family's baby. Servants attempted in vain to revive the boy by putting his head under the pump. There have also been tales of ghostly monks – sometimes a procession, sometimes alone – vanishing through a doorway long since bricked up.

References

External links

John W Mills' website with pictures of Hinxworth Place grounds.Images of England.
{{coord, 52.04133, N, 0.19492, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Grade II* listed buildings in Hertfordshire Grade II* listed houses North Hertfordshire District Manor houses in England Country houses in Hertfordshire