Elsyng Palace

[1] Henry VIII visited Elsyng, "the palatial Middlesex home of Sir Thomas Lovell, more frequently than any other residence belonging to a lay subject.

Earliest traced records show it belonged to Thomas Elsyng, a Citizen and Mercer of London.

Extensive repairs were made at Elsyng by James Nedeham, Clerk of the King's Works from 1539, and in December 1542 in preparation for a Christmas visit by Prince Edward and his sisters Mary and Elizabeth.

[8] Scottish prisoners and hostages taken at the Battle of Solway Moss visited Prince Edward at Enfield on New Year's Day 1543.

The remaining parts of the house, including the gatehouse and hall, were occupied from 1616 to 1623 by Philip Herbert, Earl of Montgomery.

[12] By 1630, however, Philip Herbert had succeeded his brother as Earl of Pembroke and was busy remodelling Wilton House.

Following the death of Pembroke in 1650, Raynton acquired the remains of Elsyng to extend the Forty Hall estate.

Initially the ruins of the palace may have been retained as a folly; however, it was eventually demolished sometime in the 1650s with some reuse of bricks in other houses around Enfield.