HATFIELD  , a

town in the Mid or St Albans parliamentary division of Hertfordshire, England, 171 M . N. of London by the Great Northern railway . Pop . (1901), 4754 . It lies picturesquely on the flank of a wooded bill, and about its foot, past which runs the Great North Road . The church of St Etheldreda, well situated towards the top of the hill, contains an Early English round arch with the dog-tooth moulding, but for the rest is Decorated and Perpendicular, and largely restored . The chapel north of the chancel is known as the Salisbury chapel, and was erected by Robert Cecil, first earl of Salisbury (d . 1612), who was buried here . It is in a mixture of classic and Gothic styles . In a private portion of the churchyard is buried, among others of the family, the third marquess of Salisbury (d . 1903) . In the vicinity is Hatfield House, close to the site of a palace of the bishops of Ely, which was erected about the beginning of the 12th century .

From this palace comes the proper

form of the name of the town, Bishop's Hatfield . In 1538 the manor was resigned to Henry VIII. by Bishop Thomas Goodrich of Ely, in exchange for certain lands in Cambridge, Essex and Norfolk; and after that monarch the palace was successively the residence of Edward VI. immediately before his accession, of Queen Elizabeth during the reign of her sister Mary, and of James I . The last-named exchanged it in 1607 for Theobalds, near Cheshunt, in the same county, an estate of Robert Cecil, earl of Salisbury, in whose family Hatfield House has since remained . The west wing of the present mansion, built for Cecil in 16o8-1611, was destroyed by fire in November 1835, the dowager marchioness of Salisbury, widow of the 1st marquess, perishing in the flames . Hatfield House was built, and has been restored and maintained, in the richest style of its period, both without and within . The buildings of mellowed red brick now used as stables and offices are, however, of a period far anterior to Cecil's time, and are probably part of the erection of John Morton, bishop of Ely in 1478-1486 . The park measures some Io m. in circumference . From the eminence on which the mansion stands the ground falls towards the river Lea, which here expands into a small lake . Beyond this is a rare example of a monks' walled vineyard . In the park is also an ancient oak under which Elizabeth is said to have been seated when the news of her sister's death was brought to her . Brocket Park is another fine demesne, at the neighbouring village of Lemsford, and the Brocket chapel in Hatfield church contains memorials of the families who have held this seat .