Many books have been written and films made about Europe during the medieval period. Hollywood tries to recreate this captivating epoch, having made some classic films set in the Middle Ages about kingdoms built, crusades fought and plagues endured. This time period of barbarism and oppressive religion in Europe connects the interval after the fall of Rome as a “superpower” in 476CE (after which the Catholic church became the most powerful institution), to the Renaissance (the beginning of the 14^th century to the 17^th century), when European thinkers, writers, and artists began to look back in history and celebrate the art and vibrant culture of ancient Greece and Rome. The Renaissance was a time of admiration for scientific inquiry, music, literature, art, and accomplishments made by people who allowed themselves the freedom to think without fear. And teetering on the edges of that new age in 1460, we find a grand estate just beginning its construction – Chenies Manor House in Buckinghamshire England.

Chenies Manor House (once known as Chenies Palace) is a country house in Buckinghamshire, England, built in the medieval architectural style of the Tudor period (1485-1603). Although the property was originally held by the Cheney family in 1180, it passed through marriage to the Russell family.  John Russell, 1^st Earl of Bedford was a nobleman who served under Henry VIII. The Russell family were merchants in the wine trade with France, as well as owners of many estates due to a prodigious career as an advisor to successive monarchs who made him wealthy and titled. John Russell was one of the most accomplished gentlemen of his time, known for his gracious manners which were praised by the Kings of England. He was a very close companion of King Henry VIII during the last years of his reign.

It was John Russell who probably constructed the house around 1530-1550, and Henry VIII is known to have visited Chenies Manor several times. Many families throughout the centuries have come to live at this estate. There is a rich history of each successive family who has come and gone, made improvements and renovations to the estate, left it in abandonment, as well as revitalized the property over the years. If these walls could talk, indeed! And perhaps they do, as graffiti was found in the surviving medieval undercroft (cellar), that implies it may have been used as a prison during the English Civil War (1642-1651).

The manor has been changed much since it was first constructed, without records detailing the process, so the exact age of existing buildings is not clear. It is fascinating to think that there are timbers in the existing roof and floors with positively identified felling dates in the range of 1540-1572, which would suggest the construction of that particular portion of the home to be in 1552. Today, the home includes a medieval well, 23 brick chimneys, a dungeon and a reputed priest hole (a hidden place to conceal priests and Catholics during the time when Catholics were persecuted in England). The property is noted for its surrounding gardens including an herb garden with medicinal plants and two mazes.

Chenies Manor remained in the possession of the Russell family until it was sold in 1954. The Russell family, to this day, continues to be buried in the Bedford Chapel on the north side of Chenies parish church, next to the manor house. At present, the property is owned by the Macleod Matthews family and is being used as a private house, but is open to the public at times. The manor has been used many times in films and tv programs, and its gardens and landscape continue to inspire and produce the lovely foliage fantasies that the world-famous English style gardens are admired for… beauty and delight!