Lost Heritage

Location		Northaw
Year demolished		1963
Reason		Fire
See all images:		Gallery

Nyn Park is a quietly overgrown oasis within 20 miles of London and is the site of both a medieval manor and hall and the 17th century mansion of Nyn Hall which was demolished following a fire.

The land from which the Nyn Manor estate orignally formed part of the Manor of Northaw which had been granted to the Abbott and monks of St Albans in the late 8th century. The estate was probably created following the Dissolution of the Monasteries when many former monastic lands were divided up. The first house on the estate was built in the latter part of the 16th century by the Earl of Warwick who is believed to have built Nyn Hall Palace. This house was replaced in around 1744 by a smaller house which was largely unaltered until the 1840s when it was greatly extended in a Tudor style. It was this house which was largely destroyed by fire on Good Friday in 1963. It is reported that despite the shell and several outbuildings surviving, the ruins were almost entirely razed to the ground leaving just the remnants of the grand porch.

The site of Nyn Hall lies at the centre of 250 acres of woodland and in September 2006 was being offered for sale at £5m as an chance to create a small estate. Planning permission has been granted to build the third Nyn Hall as the centrepiece.