Gosfield, United Kingdom

The HER also indicates that early medieval (the period between the end of Roman rule and the Norman Conquest) metalwork has been discovered in the parish. This does not necessarily mean that Gosfield was a settlement during this period, only that the area was used in some capacity before the Norman Conquest. The majority of these finds may be associated with hunting. This ties in with the placename evidence, as the 'field' element of the name suggests that the settlement originated as an area of cultivated land within an area of woodland or heath.

The Victoria County History (VCH) entry for Hedingham Priory states that a charter of 1191 the Earl of Oxford granted a wood in Gosfield to the priory. This may be the earliest documentary mention of Gosfield. It suggests that Gosfield may have come into the possession of the De Vere family not long after the Norman Conquest. An Aubrey De Vere appears to have been one of William the Conqueror's supporters who accompanied him from France in 1066. His grandson, another Aubrey, was appointed as the first Earl of Oxford. The first Earl and his wife, Lucy, founded Hedingham Priory in the second half of the 12th century, and endowed it with a portion of their extensive holdings.

The VCH also tells us that Philip Morant, the clergyman who published a history of Essex in the mid 18th century, reported that at least one holding of arable land in Gosfield is mentioned among the priory's holdings in the 13th century. Morant also be says that the priory held a church at Gosfield, together with a vicarage, at that time. If Morant can be relied upon, which is far from certain as the document that Morant cites could not be traced by later historians, this suggests that Gosfield parish church may well have earlier origins than is suggested by the listed building description.

Gosfield Hall and the parish church both lie to the west of the modern village. The hall is believed to have been built by Sir John Wentworth in 1545. John Wentworth seems to have been the son of a Yorkshire family who took a prominent role in the staff of Cardinal Wolsey under Henry VIII. He survived Wolsey's fall from grace and continued to hold office at Court into the reign of Elizabeth I. Wentworth might not, however, have built a completely new house. The present hall is built around a courtyard, and histories of the hall speak of the landscaping of the deerpark in the 18th century. Both of these facts hint that the hall might have been erected on the site of a medieval hunting lodge. There is, however, no firm evidence for this suggestion.

The hall appears to have undergone occasional remodelling after coming into the possession of wealthy families, followed by periods of lengthy decline as either the money ran out or the family moved elsewhere. The Wentworth line ended with Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet, who died in 1631, having wasted the "splendid inheritance" left to him by his father John Wentworth. By 1691 the Hall had come into the possession of Sir Thomas Millington, physician to the joint monarchs, William III and Mary II. Millington is credited with the reconstruction of the Grand Salon and with building guest quarters above it. By 1715 the Hall was the property of the leading politician, John Knight. Knight is believed to have had the east façade remodelled. After Knight's death the Hall came into the hands of the Earl Nugent, another prominent politician, who had married Knight's daughter. Nugent added a ballroom to the Hall and had the deerpark landscaped. On Nugent's death the Hall came into the ownership of George Grenville-Temple, Marquis of Buckingham. Buckingham had married Nugent's daughter, however, he preferred to make his ancestral seat, Stowe, his primary residence. As a result, the Hall fell out of favour for many decades.

One effect of the hall's fall from favour was that it briefly became the home of the exiled Louis XVIII of France in the years 1807 to 1809.

In 1791 Louis, the brother of King Louis XVI fled to the Low Countries, as the Revolution turned more violent and hostile to the Monarchy. He was to spend the next 23 years in exile, during which time his brother was guillotined, and his nephew, who nominally became Louis XVII on his father's execution, died in prison.