Tolmers Park

A famous lord of the manor was Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester who held Tolmers from 1566 until his death without heirs in 1588, when his land reverted to the Crown.

In 1608, Tolmers was granted to Sir Henry Goodere, a colourful character who was always short of money and given to writing poems to prominent figures in the Royal Household in the hope of advancement.

In a petition of 1626 applying for a position at Court, he wrote that he "desired only meat, drink and lodging, with some dignity, in that place where I have spent most of my time and estate."

In 1761, Tolmers Park was in the hands of Sir Frances Vincent, who replaced the Tudor house with the present building in the classical style with an Ionian porch.

[5] On the outbreak of World War II, Tolmers Girls School was evacuated, eventually to settle at Beechwood Park near St Albans.