Scheduled MonumentsEnglandHoughton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains

Houghton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains

England
List entry 1013522
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1013522
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
1.26 hectares
Grid reference
TL 03900 39469
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Houghton House is a ruined seventeenth-century mansion located in Bedfordshire, England, now in the care of English Heritage. The house was constructed during the early Stuart period and represents a significant example of early modern aristocratic domestic architecture, featuring a courtyard plan characteristic of the era. The surviving remains include substantial stone walls and foundations, with evidence of the formal gardens and associated courtyard layouts that once surrounded the principal residence. The site deteriorated significantly from the eighteenth century onwards and was eventually reduced to its present fragmentary state, though the scale and quality of the original construction remain evident in the surviving architectural elements.

Houghton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1013522. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Houghton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains?

Houghton House is a ruined seventeenth-century mansion located in Bedfordshire, England, now in the care of English Heritage. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1013522.

Who is responsible for protecting Houghton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains?

Houghton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1013522.

What other scheduled monuments are near Houghton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Moated site at Ruxox Farm (3.6 km), The De Grey Mausoleum (4.1 km), The Mount: a motte and bailey castle (5.3 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Houghton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Houghton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Houghton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Houghton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains

Houghton House: a 17th century mansion and associated courtyard and formal garden remains stands on West Walton Formation, Ampthill Clay Formation And Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Kimmeridgian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.