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Hatfield, dating from Saxon times, grew to importance as a coaching town.  With the arrival of the railway in 1850 the town developed rapidly and in the 1930’s its further growth was linked to the aviation industry.  Many well-known aircraft, including the Mosquito, Comet and Trident, were built here. 

 

The Hatfield of today is a very modern town but Old Hatfield, at its heart, still retains a village feel.   Old Hatfield is also the site of the magnificent Hatfield House, a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town.  Built by Robert Cecil in 1611, and home to the Cecil family ever since, the facinating Jacobean mansion contains the surviving wing of the original Royal Palace of Hatfield where Elizabeth I spent most of her childhood.  The house and its beautiful grounds are open to visitors.   

Mill Green Museum and Mill, Mill Green, Hatfield, is a restored and operational watermill that probably stands on the site of one of the four Hatfield mills mentioned in the Doomsday Book. Flour produced here is supplied to a local bakery, who produce the ‘Mill Green’ loaf. The local museum is next door in a 16th century house, home of millers for generations.

Nearby Paradise Wildlife Park has an amazing range of animals including tigers, lions, monkeys, zebras, camels and wolves and what makes it really unique is the fact that you can get up close and personal, meeting and feeding many of the animals. 

 

The Old Saddlers is a three storey house in Hatfield offering self catering accommodation for up to seven people.

 

 

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