A History

The following was kindly written by one of our guests, Meryl Hoffman.

Harmondsworth Hall as you see it today was built in the 1700's. However,
its history and roots go much deeper.

The first Harmondsworth Hall was built on this site in the sixteenth
century as a country estate. Because of its location, wealthy visitors
traveling by coach from London would occasionally spend a night here
before continuing their journeys. Some even say that Queen Elizabeth I
was one of the visitors that stayed here during that time.
Unfortunately, the first hall was badly damaged by a fire. Still, some
of the original features exist.

One of the original features is a large traditional fireplace located
towards the center of the house. If you look outside, you can see its
chimney stack which was built in then popular cruciform plan. If you
look inside, you will find the fireplace just across from the stairs in
current entrance hall. Examining this fireplace reveals a family crest
attributed to Goulin. Goulin, who is also known as the Viscount D'Arque
et de Dieppe, was a nobleman who is said to have fought at the Battle of
Hastings under Harold's banner. Sometime after the battle, Goulin became
a Benedictine abbot. Goulin became associated with this area and hall
when William the Conqueror gave Harmondsworth to the French Benedictine
Monastery of the Holy Trinity located near Rouen.

The relationship of Harmondsworth Hall to the church is shrouded with
mystery. When electricity was added to the house in the early 1900's,
secret rooms were discovered. It has been suggested that these rooms
were used as priest holes to hide Catholic priests during the 1600's. It
has also been rumored that there once was a secret passage that lead
from the hall to Harmondsworth Church. While the previous owners of the
hall, Ivor and Ava Robertson, found "three odd steps when they were
renovating one of the rooms downstairs" (1), no other trace of the
passage has been found. Still, it may have existed. Some local villagers
have claimed that ghosts of former monks can occasionally be seen
wandering in the garden outside the house.

 
Today, the house leads a more secular life. After the fire, the house
was rebuilt to Georgian standards. Although the house has been
modernized, many of those eighteenth century features still exist. If
you stand just outside the main door, you will see a classic pediment
doorframe flanked by two oval windows. If you look above the door, you
will see an arched window flanked on either side by two windows that
have been bricked in. These windows were sealed in response to Pitt the
Younger's increased window tax. While the tax was initially levied in
1697 (2), Pitt the Younger raised it considerably in an effort to reduce
the national debt. Rather than pay the higher taxes, many wealthy people
simply bricked up any windows they didn't need. The current phrase
"daylight robbery" originated from this practice and people's attitudes
towards the tax.

As you go through the oak door with its lions-head handle, you enter the
grand entrance hall. Entrance halls were generally designed to impress.
During this time, front-to-back hallways were designed to give visitors
a vista when they entered. Vistas gave the house a sense of grandness
since visitors saw large spaces without knowing if there were rooms
lying beyond the end of the hall. At Harmondsworth Hall, you will see
that the vista includes three stained glass windows depicting the muses
of Poetry, Painting, and Music.  If you walk towards the vista, you will
cross over the originally laid marble floor, pass by the crested
fireplace, and see an elegantly carved staircase. This is typically
where visitors would wait to be admitted into one of the large reception
rooms. 

In the front reception room to your left as you come through the door,
is the lounge. If you examine this room, you will see it is decorated in
the typical style of the Jacobean period. While it is not clear whether
this room is part of the original hall, it does have the beamed ceiling
and dark wood paneling that was favored during the 1600's. Today, the
warmth of the wood and the addition of overstuffed furniture makes the
room a comfortable place to relax and socialize with other guests. There
is a computer in this room that is available free of charge if you need
to access the Internet.

 The second reception room on your left is the dining room. In contrast
to the first reception room, this room is decorated in the classic
Georgian style. Notice the high ceiling and style of wall paneling
around the room. Like the first room, all of the paneling and fireplaces
are original to the hall. After looking, compare it with the lounge.
Notice the difference in their feeling and appearance. Georgian
architecture took its inspiration from the Romans. Your home was your
temple.  In the dining room, there is a sense of lightness and openness
that is in contrast with the coziness of the lounge.

In the dining room, opposite the fireplace, you will see a portrait of
Montague of Bermont East. This portrait dates to the 1800's and was
found by the hall's previous owners. While not yet confirmed, it is
suspected that he was a former resident of the hall. If you examine the
portrait, you will see a hole located near his heart. No, he was not
shot by a jealous lover. The story behind the hole dates back to WWII
when a group of Canadian soldiers were residing at the hall. One night,
a soldier was cleaning his gun when it fired accidentally. Poor Montague
took the shot. However, it doesn't appear as if he minds.


If you step through the French doors in the dining room, you come out
into the garden. While considerably reduced from its size in the 1700's,
it still offers a pleasant place to relax. If you look ?????, you will
find a cannon that dates to the Tudor era. The cannon "is said to have
been part of an English ship captured off the Spanish Main." (1)  After
capture, the gun was mounted at Margarita Island to protect the pearl
fisheries. Sometime later, the Venezuelan governor gave the gun to an
Admiral's wife who installed it in the garden.

The current owners of Hamondsworth Hall are pleased to be the stewards
of this special property. If you have any additional questions about the
hall or its history, feel free to ask.

1.) Advertizer and Gazette, Jackie Baines, March 10, 1977.
2.) http://www.historyhome.co.uk/c-eight/pitt/taxpitt.htm

Meryl Hoffman - BladeLogic Training
(O) 781.257.3613
mhoffman@bladelogic.com
BladeLogic Inc.
"Configuring the Data Center"(TM)
10 Maguire Road, Building 3, Lexington, MA 2421
www.bladelogic.com