Robert Cecil, the second son of Burghley, had been brought up to succeed his father as chief minister of the Crown.  He held this position under Queen Elizabeth, and later was responsible for arranging that James, King of Scotland, should succeed Elizabeth peacefully.  As long as he lived he remained James’ chief minister and dominated English politics.  It was he who was finally responsible for the discovery and suppression of the Gunpowder Plot.

James I did not care for the Old Palace as a house; he preferred Theobalds, the residence of Robert Cecil, afterwards 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563-1612), and he proposed an exchange.  Robert agreed.  In 1607/08 he pulled down three sides of Hatfield Palace and built himself the present House in what was then a modern style at a cost of at least £38,000.  The main designer was Robert Lyminge, but the plans were modified by the advice of several others, including, it is thought, young Inigo Jones.  The central block was given up to State Rooms suitable for entertaining the royal court and splendidly decorated.  Apartments in the two wings were set aside for the King and Queen.  The interior decoration was the work of English, Flemish and French craftsmen, notably Maximilian Colt.  The gardens were elaborately planned with fountains and a lake devised by a Frenchman and rarities brought from abroad by the famous plantsman, John Tradescant.  Salisbury also established a walled vineyard in the park.  The vineyard remains but the vines failed.

Just before the house was finished in 1612, Lord Salisbury died.  His successors for the next 240 years were not men of eminence; but their rank still enabled them and their House to play a part in history.  James I visited Hatfield; so did his son Charles.  When Charles was a prisoner of the Parliament and on the way to London, he was courteously received by the 2nd Earl of Salisbury (1591-1668), although the latter was not one of his supporters.  Hatfield during Charles II’s reign is memorable chiefly for the visits of Samuel Pepys, who did not think much of ‘my simple Lord Salisbury’ as he called him; and later of James II, then Duke of York, fleeing with his wife from the anti-popish agitations in London.  But the 3rd Earl of Salisbury (1648-1683), who was himself anti-popish, would not receive his royal visitors.  They found the House deserted and not prepared for them, so that they had to send out to buy food and candles in the town.  The 4th Earl of Salisbury (1666-1694) supported James II, however, and in due course was imprisoned in the Tower in consequence.  The 5th and 6th Earls took no part in politics.  The 6th Earl (1713-1780) was a spendthrift rake who was satirized by Pope and Hogarth for acting as coachman on the public coach between London and Hatfield!

In the second half of the eighteenth century the House comes into prominence again as the residence of George III’s Lord Chamberlain, the 1st Marquess (1748-1823).  His personality counted for less than that of his wife, Lady Emily Mary Hill.  Beautiful, dominating and energetic, she was the chief Tory hostess of her time.  She redecorated Hatfield in the taste of the period and bought the beautiful eighteenth-century furniture for the King James’ Drawing Room.  As a very old lady she died in a fire which  destroyed a large part of the inside of the west wing of the House.

Her son, the 2nd Marquess (1791-1868), rebuilt it; and he undid most of his mother’s redecoration in an attempt to restore the Elizabethan style, which had once more come into fashion.  The House continued to be a great social and political centre.  His wife, born Miss Gascoyne, was a great friend of the Duke of Wellington, of whom there are many relics at Hatfield.  Queen Victoria and Prince Albert paid a visit in 1846.  For their benefit bedrooms were redecorated and three pairs of large, ornamental iron gates, which had been cast in a Paris foundry, were put up outside.  The 2nd Marquess also created the Maze and the terraced gardens on each side of the House.

Under his son the 3rd Marquess (1830-1903), the family once again achieved the same eminence as under Elizabeth and James I.  He was leader of the Conservative Party and three times Prime Minister.  During his period of office England attained her most powerful position in history.  Her Empire spread to cover much of the globe and she held the balance of power in Europe.  She did this successfully largely owing to the wisdom and skill of the 3rd Marquess.  He was a man of intellect, a Fellow of All Souls’ College and Chancellor of the University of Oxford.  In addition to his political activities, he was deeply interested in religion.  He redecorated the Chapel and rebuilt the nave of Hatfield parish church.  He was also of a scientific turn of mind, and one of the first men to introduce a telephone and electricity into his house.  Hatfield in the late nineteenth century was visited by guests as diverse as Gladstone, Disraeli and Lewis Carroll.  This social life was organised by the Marchioness, the able and formidable Miss Georgina Alderson.  They had seven children who were brought up in an atmosphere free, affectionate and unconventional.  Within a Christian framework they were encouraged to argue and discourse with their parents on equal terms - and the girls on equal terms with the boys.  They were a brilliant and vital generation and all made their mark.  The eldest son, James 4th Marquess (1861-1947), was a leading Conservative statesman; the second son William became Bishop of Exeter; Robert, afterwards Lord Cecil of Chelwood, achieved an international reputation as a moving spirit in establishing the League of Nations and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Edward was financial adviser to the Egyptian Government; and the fifth son, afterwards Lord Quickswood, was a famous orator and also Provost of Eton.  The elder daughter Maud, who married the Earl of Selborne, did notable public work in various causes; Gwendolen acted as her father’s secretary and, after his death, as his biographer.

Meanwhile under the 4th Marquess and his wife Lady Alice Gore, Hatfield continued as a social and political centre.  Edward VII stayed here, also Balfour, Chamberlain and Kitchener.  In the Second World War it became a hospital and, afterwards, the first Civil Resettlement Unit for prisoners of war.  The 5th Marquess (1893-1972) maintained the tradition of the two previous generations.  He was under Secretary for Foreign Affairs during the thirties when, in company with Anthony Eden, he resigned in protest against the policy of appeasement.  He served in Sir Winston Churchill’s government and in subsequent Conservative governments until he resigned in 1957.  He was the third successive Marquess of Salisbury to be Leader of the House of Lords.  Distinguished as a man of taste and scholarly knowledge, he took a great interest in Hatfield and its antiquities and in particular the books and manuscripts.  He married in 1915 Miss Elizabeth Cavendish and had three sons.  Among the guests he entertained was Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the Prince of Wales and Sir Winston Churchill.

After war service and a brief spell as an MP,  the 6th Marquess (1916-2003), with the Marchioness, herself a celebrated garden designer, devoted themselves to ensuring that the  family Estates survived and prospered in a traditional manner.  They thoroughly restored the external fabric of the House and brought new life to the gardens.

The 7th Marquess has continued the family tradition in politics.  He was elected Member of Parliament for South Dorset (Conservative) in 1979 and served until 1987, when he did not stand for re-election.  During these eight years he was particularly interested in foreign affairs, constitutional affairs and Northern Ireland.

He was summoned to the Upper House as Baron Cecil of Essendon, in the County of Rutland, by a Writ of Acceleration in 1992.  He became a Life Peer in November 1999.  From 1992 to 1994 he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, from 1994 to 1997 he was Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords, and from 1997 to 1998 he was Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords.  He took leave of absence from the House of Lords in 2002.

Hatfield House is now the home of the 7th Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury.