Holywell House was a house in St Albans

St Albans

St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...

, Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

The manor house was originally called Hallywell (the later known spelling, Holywell, is probably a corruption of this original spelling). Another possibility as to the origin of the name is the legend of St Alban: Running into St Albans from the south is Holywell Hill (generally pronounced "holly-well hill"), its name taken from the story of Saint Alban's death: legend has it that his severed head rolled down the hill from the execution site and into a well at the bottom (some versions have a well springing from the site at which the head stopped). The manor was in possession of Sir Ralph Rowlett in 1571, and after his death, it passed to his nephew Robert Jenyns (or Jennings). It passed through the Jennings family line, and Sarah Churchill (née Jenyns), Duchess of Marlborough

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough

Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...

 was born here in 1660. After their father Richard's death, the house was jointly owned by Sarah and her sister Frances, until Sarah bought the house outright. She and her husband, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...

 often stayed here. The house was demolished in 1827, but a blue plaque marks the spot on Holywell Hill where the house is believed to have stood. There is also a Holywell House in Swanmore, current home of the Earl and Countess of Clarendon.