Hertfordshire has everything. Rolling fields, historic houses, famous waterways. It's even got Britain's oldest pub, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks. Don't mind if we do! It's a county heavy with the past: where the first draft of the Magna Carta was written down on parchment, where the only ever English Pope was born. To the north is the world's first garden city, to the west are the sprawling Chiltern hills. Not to mention the famous Norman Cathedral of St. Albans, or the excavated Roman ruins of Verulamium.
And Hatfield House is a ruby set in the heart of the county's crown. This Jacobean prodigy house, built in 1611, draws thousands of visitors every year. Wood-panelled hallways lined with portraits, bedrooms hung with tapestries: it's no wonder so much has been filmed here, from Shakespeare in Love and Enola Holmes to Rebecca and The Favourite.
This design shows off the beautiful symmetry of the façade, centred by the clocktower and gilded weathervane. This would make the perfect gift for lovers of Jacobean architecture - or anyone who likes pretty houses, for that matter!
