About

Forty Hall & Estate - Jewel in the Crown of London

Forty Hall & Estate is one of England's finest historic houses set in its own Estate, with walled garden, formal and informal gardens, lakes, lawns, and meadows. The Hall also includes the Forty Hall Banqueting Suite for hire and events management services for weddings and other special occasions, parties, and conferences.

The Courtyard Café is located adjacent to the main building and provides food and refreshments for all. Forty Hall Farm is a working farm managed by the nationally renowned horticultural specialists, Capel Manor College.

The Hall & Estate are affectionately known locally as 'the Jewel in the Crown of Enfield', and is owned and managed by Enfield Council.

The Hall was built at the edge of London, but a horse ride from the city, by Sir Nicholas Rainton 1629-1632, Lord Mayor of London, Puritan, philanthropist, respected merchant and member of the Guild of Habadashers.

The Hall is designated as a Grade 1 Listed building, and is important to architectural English history as a fine example on the cusp between the medieval to modern style.

The Hall has been changed and reworked by the string of owners that lived there however many architectural features remain from the 17thC, 18thC, and 19thC.

The Estate parkland contains the rare archaeological remains of Elsyng Palace, a tudor hunter lodge used by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. This site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is the subject of annual archaeological digs.

Press

The Hall & Estate and the surrounding area of Forty Hill are a Conservation area with many fine buildings in the area and a distinct historic village style.

A visit to Sir Nicholas Rainton's Hall & Estate provides a unique experience of London today and is important to our understanding of the growth of the Capital City, and of the life and times of the merchant classes who established London as a major centre for trade worldwide.

Forty Hall & Estate is the subject of a major refurbishment project, for further information about this exciting project please visit the Future Page.

Our annual programme of exhibitions, projects, education activies, events and festivals will continue in the Estate and at other community venues across the borough throughout the closure period of the Hall. This programme is based on three on-going themes - Art, Ecology, and Heritage.

There are lots of ways to get involved in our on-going programme and to become involved in our plans for the relaunch of this fine historic Hall & Estate.

For archive information about our programmes and for the latest plans on our What's On click here.

For information on how to get involved in our plans to relaunch Forty Hall & Estate, and/or how to volunteer as part of our team click here.

There really is something for everyone - family activities, performances, exhibitions, site-specific artworks, tours, events, festivals, and much more.