Place Name
Historical. This was once the thatched north wall of the bishops of Ely’s famous gardens. Sir Christopher Hatton (1540 – November 20, 1591), was Lord Chancellor and favourite of Elizabeth I. He left Oxford before completing his law course and enrolled as one of the queen’s bodyguards. Good looking, intelligent, charming, and with a fleet foot on the dance floor he was soon spotted by the monarch and swiftly rose through the ranks. When he became a MP he repaid her kindness as a firm supporter of the queen in the Commons. Hatton, was born into Northamptonshire gentry, and was that rare thing in the Tudor Court a self-made man. He created and seized opportunities, growing rich off the proceeds. Among them backing Sir Francis Drake’s risky voyage on the Pelican to the New World. On reaching the Pacific Ocean, the naval hero repaid his benefactor by renaming his ship The Golden Hind, inspired by the emblem on Hatton’s coat of arms and the stacks of Spanish gold in her hold. Hatton’s share of the booty was £2,300 – a fortune at the time. Such was her regard for him that in 1576, the queen forced the Bishop of Ely to cede a large part of his substantial gardens to him, much against his will. Hatton was able to wrestle the rest from the church in 1581 following the death of Bishop Cox resulting in a long vacancy for the post of the Bishop of Ely, who the queen just happened to appoint. Hatton remained close to Elizabeth until his death when he was given a state funeral and buried at St Paul’s Cathedral. Sir Christopher’s property, Hatton House, was passed down the line to a descendant, also called Christopher Hatton, who was created Baron Hatton of Kirkby in 1643. His decision to follow Charles II into exile was an expensive one and he was forced to sell the house and gardens.
