Chestnut House, Hertfordshire

The parish and manor of Chestnut was supposedly named after the abundance of chestnut trees in the area. Chestnut passed through many royal and aristocratic hands throughout the medieval period; in the late eighteenth century it became the property of the Prescott family. Chestnut House apparently original dated from the sixteenth century when Henry VIII gave it to Cardinal Wolsey. Although by the early nineteenth century the house had been almost entirely rebuilt, it still was surrounded by a broad and deep moat. In one of the rooms on an upper floor was a door stained by blood. Legend had it that it was the blood of a noble lady who was murdered by Wolsey (the tale is highly unlikely; Wolsey's name was besmirched by Henry VIII after the cardinal fell out of favour for failing to obtain the king a divorce from Catharine of Aragon).