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Descendants of Thomas de HaydenAn
ancient family, belonging to the Order of Knights, the Hayden’s (also spelled
Haydon or Heydon) take their name from the village of Heydon, Norfolk,
England, where they were first seated. The village name of Heydon comes from
"high down" meaning a "plain on the hill". The village
was taken by William the Conqueror from a Saxon family named Whither, and
given to the Earl of Warren, William de Warren. The early Hayden’s
intermarried with the Warrens and other prominent Norman families and held
the manor of Hayden Hall. The original Heydon Hall is now gone, but was
replaced in the 1500's by a magnificent Heydon Hall which still stands today. The Hayden’s sold the property to
the Dynnes in 1567, and Henry Dynne built the current Heydon Hall in 1582.
The Dynnes in turn sold it to the Earles in 1640. In 1756, William Wiggett
Bulwer married Mary Earle and united their estates. Heydon Hall is still in
the Bulwer family today. The estate includes a clock tower and a two-acre
walled garden on the property.
The Bulwer’s who live there today
restored it in the 1970’s. Included in the Hayden estate is the village of
Hayden itself; today it is still the only privately owned village in Norfolk,
England.
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