Rye House Gatehouse, Rye Road, Stanstead Abbots, Hertfordshire
This gatehouse was the entrance to Rye House (now demolished). It is a fine example of an early brick building. The house was built for Sir Andrew Ogard, a naturalised Dane. It was built in c1443 when he was granted a license to crenellate. In 1683 it was the scene of the Rye House Plot to murder Charles II. It was used as a workhouse for the parish before the Poor Law Act of 1834, when the inmates were moved to Ware. In c1868 Henry Teale developed the site as a pleasure garden for London day trippers. This involved moving the gatehouse from its original location.
