Luton Hoo is a mansion in Bedfordshire, England,
on the edge of the large town of Luton. The unusual
name "Hoo" is a saxon word meaning the
spur of a hill, and is more commonly found in East
Anglia. Luton Hoo is not mentioned in the Domesday
book, but a family called de Hoo occupied a manor
house on the site in the 13th century.
Woburn Abbey, the seat of the head of the Russell
Family, the Duke of Bedford, was a sad half-demolished,
half-derelict house in 1953 after the death of the
heavily indebted 12th Duke. The Abbey, originally
given to the family by Henry VIII, had been largely
rebuilt by the 4th Duke in the 18th century.
Claydon House is a country house in the Aylesbury
Vale, Buckinghamshire, England, close to the village
of Middle Claydon. It is owned by the National Trust.
There has been a manor on the site of the present
house since before the Norman conquest of England.
The house was severely damaged after an attack by
Parliamentary troops in 1643; some of the damage is
still evident. The house was built for Sir Thomas
Holte and remained in the family until 1817 when it
was leased by James Watt Jr, son of the world-famous
industrial pioneer James Watt. The house was then
purchased by the Birmingham Corporation in 1864.
