The More

The More was a 16th-century palace in Batchworth, Hertfordshire. It stood on the edge of the Colne flood plain, near the later More Park estate. Cardinal Wolsey once owned the house before it passed to Henry VIII in 1531. Catherine of Aragon lived there after her marriage to Henry VIII was annulled. The Treaty of the More was signed here between Henry VIII and French ambassadors. The palace was considered more splendid than Hampton Court by the French ambassador Jean du Bellay in 1527. Nothing remains above ground today, and the site is protected as a scheduled ancient monument. The palace had a long gallery 253 feet long and 15 feet wide, mostly built of brick. John Hethe redecorated rooms with Anne Boleyn’s cipher in 1534. Galyon Hone installed stained glass, and provisions were made for archery and deer barns. A royal inventory in 1547 listed 157 items, including tapestries with Wolsey’s coat of arms. By 1598, the house was recorded as ruins and was demolished in 1661. Excavations between 1952 and 1955 found remnants beneath imported topsoil. Today, the site lies buried under a playing field for Merchant Taylors’ Prep School. Two stone pillars with Renaissance carvings were found in the school grounds in 2010. An episode of *Time Team* explored the site in 2012. The area is quiet, with no visible traces of the palace above ground. The school’s grounds cover the former location, preserving it beneath the surface. Visitors can walk over the site without realising its historical significance.