Theobalds House

Theobalds House
Theobalds Park (now Birch) Hotel
General information
Coordinates	51°41′20″N 0°3′22″W / 51.68889°N 0.05611°W / 51.68889; -0.05611

Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace) in the parish of Cheshunt in the English county of Hertfordshire, north of London, was a significant stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries.

Set in extensive parkland, it was a residence of statesmen Lord Burghley and his son, both leading royal advisers. It was a notable example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, and was the favourite residence of King James I, who died there. The palace was demolished as a result of the English Civil War.

A new mansion known as The Cedars was built farther to the west in 1763: the house and park were then acquired and the house extended by millionaire brewers the Meux family. London's Temple Bar Gate was preserved and stood in the park from 1880 to 2003, when it was moved back to London. The mansion, which became Middlesex County Council Secondary School and then Theobalds Park College, is now part of a hotel and members club known as Birch; the house is a Grade II* listed building.^[1]