A History of Preston
in Hertfordshire
Robert Hinde was born at Chertsey Abbey, Surrey in 1720/1. On his paternal side, his ancestors included Scottish and English kings as far back as Alfred the Great. The pedigree of his mother’s family included the Emperor Charlemagne and one of her ancestors was an attendant of William the Conqueror.
Robert’s family, although steeped in military tradition, had purchased a brewery at Holborn, London to bolster finances. From the profits of this venture, Robert’s father bought Hunsdon House at Preston. This mansion had been built on the site of Preston Castle which dated from around the tenth century. It was rumoured that a battle had been fought in the area ‘in early times’ and that one of the protagonists had been based at Preston Castle.
Unsurprisingly, in view of Robert’s military forefathers, he joined the army in 1751
and was appointed as Ensign in the Eleventh Foot. Three years later, he was promoted
to the rank of Sub-
During a lull in campaigns, Robert married Mary Ball who was the daughter of the Governor of Jersey. The
couple had seventeen children including sets of twins.
After his parent’s deaths in the early 1750s, Robert inherited Hunsdon House and embarked on a programme
of bizarre additions to the property. ‘He converted the appearance of the house into that of a castle (from which
it derives its present name Preston Castle) by making turrets, embattlements, port
holes, port cullises etc. He raised a small battery of seven guns on the right hand-
gun in front of the same, all of which used to be fired on particular rejoicing days. He also erected a building, which he called a gazebo, in one of his fields called Mount Garrison’. ‘In the garden adjoining he raised his earthworks, dug his trenches and built his mimic fortifications’. (1)
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I have something in common with Robert Hinde who lived at Preston Castle in the eighteenth century. He was descended from kings of England. It is not this heritage that we share, but rather a common birthday, 12 January.
Preston Castle
Preston Castle -
(Sources: ‘Hitchin Worthies’ -
If these modifications were insufficient to raise the eyebrows of Preston’s labourers, Robert also began
behaving eccentrically – ‘On the anniversary of the King’s birthday and of famous battles, he mounted his
servant (Samuel Pilgrim*) on horseback and made him ride through Hitchin trumpeting as he went, stopping occasionally to proclaim, like a herald of old, the event for which the day was famous’. (2) This odd behaviour escalated. Robert later dressed in full uniform and decorations and rode to Hitchin’s market place with his retainers to announce important anniversaries in English heritage. There was a fanfare, an address and the national anthem was sung after which entertainment the entourage beat a retreat to Preston Castle.
After playing soldiers, in 1756 Robert was no doubt delighted to experience the real McCoy when he fought in
the Seven Years War as Brigadier and Lieutenant in the Light Cavalry. He was again promoted and finished the campaign as Captain Hinde. Intrigued (perhaps obsessed) as he was with the tactics of war, after his
retirement in 1763 Robert wrote, ‘The Discipline of the Light Horse’ which was a history of his regiment.
Robert returned to Preston Castle on half-
his growing progeny, and the eight children of Mary Taylor who lived at Hitchin Hill.
These were decked-
He now applied himself to farming – yet his military training asserted itself even
in this pursuit. When he summoned and dismissed his labourers, it was proclaimed
by a chorus from his Light-
he took his farming seriously – ‘I pursue the following method: wheat after the fallow,
then peas, turnips, barley, oats, clover, wheat’. He suggested improvements to Arthur
Young’s swing-
He found time to sit at the Hitchin Bench and also lambasted the surveyors of highways concerning the state
of local roads (Link: Preston Highways). His attention to detail and egotism drove him to correct an entry of the birth of one of his children in the Hitchin parish register. He added ‘Esquire’ to the record and noted his rank
and regiment. It must have been galling to such a man to find that half-
expenses – and especially the demands of his children. He sometimes rode to London in attempts to have the £132.0s.51/2d paid early.
It was on St George’s Day (ironically the day that pay was due), 23 April 1786, that Robert died, aged 66. On
the day of the funeral, Pilgrim fired a salute and sounded the ‘Last Post’ from the gazebo. Then the last Hinde military procession, resplendent in its heraldry and plumes, wound its way through the Preston lanes to
St Mary’s Church at Hitchin.
Robert was laid to rest with his parents inside St Mary, but even here he attracted attention – the
churchwardens objected to the verse on his grave and his Coat of Arms was prone to trip worshippers. Both
the verse and the indentation have been eroded.
What became of Preston Castle? Robert’s children moved to Hitchin Hill and the mansion quickly became abandoned. On 8 May 1832, there was an advertisement to let Preston Castle which provided a glimpse of its features:
The approach, past a neat entrance lodge, was by a gravelled road through a meadow.
There were four bedrooms and a large bedroom for servants on the upper floor of the
mansion. On the first floor were three spacious apartments opening into a gallery,
dressing room, water closet, three other bedrooms, apple room and staircases. The
ground floor had a drawing room (30’ x 20’), a dining room (20’ x 18’), a billiard
room, kitchen, pantry, servants’ hall, wash-
The outbuildings included a double coach house, five-
A visitor to Preston Castle in the 1850s observed that it was ‘standing forsaken
and dilapidated in the midst of its still beautiful gardens. A narrow lane running
south from Preston led you to a simple lodge. You then passed over the meadows, well-
‘Inside the mansion, all was silent and forsaken. One’s footsteps echoed strangely and the midday sun, passing into the rooms through an outer blind of sweet roses, starry jasmine and climbing creepers, could not lighten the gloom within. The sight of the mildewed walls, the faded, falling papers, the blank deserted hearth would have saddened any heart...’ (3)
The mansion was eventually sold to William Mellish a few years later and sold off
as building material. The battery of guns became scrap metal (except two which found
their way to Preston Hill Farm); the gazebo was used to repair a Kings Walden pigsty;
the lawn reverted to pasture. Even the avenue of walnut trees, which led from Chequers
Lane to Castle Farm, are no more. The lodge was destroyed by fire in 1912. Only the
name remains – ‘Castle Farm’ – which adorns a nearby farm. There is also a three-
With Hinde-
Note: *Samuel Pilgrim was baptised on Boxing Day 1732/3 in St Pauls Walden. He died on 21 January 1802 and although he was living in Kings Walden, he was buried at St Pauls Walden. He was a witness of Robert Hinde’s will.