Among the few of these noble residences that can be mentioned here, Hatfield House, which was built between the years 1605 and 1611 by the first Earl of Salisbury, presents a magnificent specimen of early Jacobean architecture in brick and stone, mellowed by time to exquisitely soft tints. The original palace, where Edward VI lived, and where Elizabeth was kept in captivity, now forms the stables. The mention of the virgin queen naturally leads on to Ashridge, near Berkhampstead, formerly the seat of the Dukes of Bridgewater, where Elizabeth also spent a considerable time in her early days. Although the present building, which stands partly in Hertfordshire and partly in Buckinghamshire, is mostly modern Gothic, the fine vaulted cellar is a remnant of the old monastery and college which formerly occupied the site. Knebworth, near Stevenage, the home of the Earls of Lytton, although now a comparatively modern Gothic building, was originally a Tudor mansion, dating from the reign of Henry VII, the present house occupying the position of one of the four wings of the original building. Tittenhanger, between St Albans and Colney, occupies the site of a royal residence dating from the fourteenth and early part of the fifteenth century; the present mansion, notable for its grand oak staircase, is stated to have been built in 1654, although the style of the brickwork suggests the early part of the eighteenth century. Little Hadham Hall, at the village of that name, is a splendid example of Elizabethan architecture in red brick. [Illustration: Knebworth] A very interesting mansion is Salisbury House, Shenley, built some time before 1669; much of the original brick building still remaining as an excellent example of Stuart architecture. The house is surrounded by a broad moat, and is approached by a bridge. Mackery End, near Wheathampstead, contains some fine examples of sixteenth century architecture; and Rothamsted, near Harpenden, is in the main a seventeenth century brick mansion, dating from between 1630 and 1650, although it has older portions, and the hall belonged to a house constructed of timber on a flint base. Of fine old houses now forming farm-homesteads there are many examples on the western side of the county. Among these is Turner’s Hall, to the north-west of Harpenden, now considerably modernised. [Illustration: Water End Farm near Wheathampstead (_Elizabethan Manor-House_)]