Hatfield Regis Priory

The large settlement of Hatfield was well established by the time of the Norman Conquest, and the Domesday Book lists the presence of a Saxon church.

[2] In around 1230 a fire destroyed part of the priory church, for whose repairs Henry III granted ten oaks each from the forests of Hatfield and Wristle.

[3] A dispute over tithes from the royal manor of Hatfield granted to the Augustinian canons of St. Botolph, Colchester, by King Henry I continued for decades.

The priory reached its peak in the first half of the fourteenth century with its great church, 230 feet in length, dominating the local countryside.

Roger de Wautham, canon of St. Paul's, London, donated precious vessels for the use of the abbey and of the parish church.

[1][7] The tomb effigy of Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford was reportedly moved from the priory chapel to the parish church at Hatfield.