Hatfield House is an archetype of English country ...

Hatfield House is an archetype of English country house architecture of the Jacobean period, and still lived in by the family. The house and gardens have been open to the public for many years, and that has led to a very slick and well-planned management of their visitors (which is very convenient, but you do feel very much like a "source of revenue" from the moment you arrive). The guides/stewards stationed in each room of the house have a lot of love for the building, and take little encouragement to tell you facts as well as their own particular favourite rooms or items in the extensive art collection. A highlight for me is that in the James I room, absolutely all the wall space has been hung with tapestry - exactly as would have been done when the house was built, but then fell out of fashion, so it's rare to see a room presented like this. That the house is still inhabited by the family lends a rounded quality to everything you see (it isn't "curated" so much as collated), although this does mean a lot of the house and grounds are out of bounds. The gardens and park are pleasurable, but fairly unremarkable - the house really is the star.