Bought by Henry VIII from ‘the unthrifty earl’, the manor house had a fine hall and chapel which was bombed in WWII.
In 1535 Henry VIII acquired a large number of estates from Henry Percy sixth earl of Northumberland who is often known as ‘the unthrifty earl’. His nickname comes from the catastrophic management of his estates that resulted in sales and the transfer of some key properties to Henry VIII in 1535. One of these was a manor house in Hackney (later known as Brooke House).
The house, which was built round a single courtyard, had been built in the 1470s by William Worsley, the Dean of St Paul’s and had been purchased by Percy in 1531. In 1535 henry triggered a major building and extension project and handed the house over to Thomas Cromwell as a residence but also as a building project. It is unlikely that he ever lived there and the house was surrendered back to the king in 1536. For the next decade Henry made occasional use of the house – I have found references to four stays there. He also allowed some of his courtiers to lodge there. In 1547 Edward VI granted it to Sir William Herbert.
As well as a hall there was a fine chapel with a royal pew, a long gallery and a library; most of this was still standing after the house was bombed in the Second World War but was demolished in the 1950s on safety grounds.
The site is in a built-up area and now occupied by a sixth form college.