Camfield Place

About this place

Camfield Place stands near Hatfield in Hertfordshire, on the site of a manor first recorded in the thirteenth century.

The current building dates from 1867, when it was rebuilt in the Italianate style by Edmund Potter, grandfather of the author Beatrix Potter.

Dame Barbara Cartland later made the house her home, designing its interiors herself.

The grounds were laid out by Capability Brown and include the oak beneath which Cartland is buried.

The house is cared for by Historic Houses and opens by appointment only.

History

The manor was rebuilt in 1867 by Edmund Potter, grandfather of the author Beatrix Potter, who called Camfield the place she loved best. Lord and Lady Queenborough made further additions in the early twentieth century, including an external wooden panelled portico. Dame Barbara Cartland took on the house afterwards, and her family has lived there for more than seventy years. Cartland is buried in the grounds beneath an ancient oak.

Architecture

The 1867 rebuild gave the house its Italianate character under Edmund Potter, with later alterations by Lord and Lady Queenborough adding a wooden panelled portico to the exterior.

Worth knowing

Beatrix Potter spent time at Camfield as a child through her grandfather Edmund Potter and named it as her favourite place. Dame Barbara Cartland lived and wrote at Camfield and is buried in the grounds.

Gardens & grounds

The grounds include vistas laid out by Capability Brown and a walk to the ancient oak marking Dame Barbara Cartland's resting place.