The Old Palace, c. 1485, is one of the foremost examples of mediaeval brickwork in the country and still retains most of its original roof timbers. It was a childhood home of Queen Elizabeth I, who held her first Council of State in the Banqueting Hall in 1558. In 1607 King James I exchanged it for Theobalds, the house of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury. Robert Cecil demolished three quarters of the original palace and built the new House. For three centuries, the Old Palace was used as the stables for Hatfield House, until the building was restored by the 4th Marquess. Many of the roof beams are peppered with gunshot, apparently because sparrows flew in and out when the stable doors were left open.

The Old Palace is available for hire throughout the year as a venue for corporate and private parties, marriage ceremonies, wedding receptions, banquets and other events Click here for more information.

The Knot Garden, in front of the Old Palace, is based upon Elizabethan designs and was created by the Dowager Marchioness of Salisbury in 1984. It is filled with plants that are known to have grown in England before 1700.