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The More


Coordinates: 51°38′02″N 0°26′18″W / 51.634014°N 0.438408°W / 51.634014; -0.438408

The More (also known as the Manor of the More) was a 16th-century palace near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England, where Catherine of Aragon lived after the annulment of her marriage to Henry VIII. It was previously owned by Cardinal Wolsey, and was located at the north east corner of the later More Park estate on the edge of the River Colne flood plain. The Treaty of the More was celebrated here by Henry VIII and the French ambassadors. In 1527, the French ambassador, Jean du Bellay thought the house more splendid than Hampton Court. Nothing now remains above ground. The site is a scheduled ancient monument. In the grounds of the school exist parts of at least two large stone pillars (approx 1 meter in length) which are said to be part of the original manor.

The site was inhabited in the 12th century, or earlier. The house came to Wolsey as a possession of the Abbey of St Albans in 1515, and passed to Henry VIII in 1531. By the mid-16th century, there was a timber-framed long gallery 15 feet broad and 253 feet in length. Most of the house was made of brick. Catherine of Aragon came to live at the More in the winter of 1531/32. The house was redecorated by the painter John Hethe with the Queen's badges (the ciphers of Anne Boleyn) in 1534, and in 1541 Hethe painted the king's bedchamber with blue bice and fine colours. Stained glass was installed by Galyon Hone. Provision was made in 1542 for the king's archery, and two deer-barns were built. There were even two grandstands to watch the hunting. It seems that the building was abandoned after 1556 and may have had inadequate foundations.


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