The words above, spoken by Henry Bolingbroke against his opponents’ abuse of his property during his time in exile in William Shakespeare's Richard II, tell of the connection between land, architecture, and honour. Many court records are filled with similar cases related to land disputes and enclosure disagreements. Land and the question of its legal ownership became increasingly important in the sixteenth century. The enclosure of the land by the nobility gives an insight into the value placed on outdoor space, a space that was becoming a more exclusive concept during the early Tudor period. The value could be monetary, but it was not always so. Indeed, the social and symbolic value of land is apparent in the legislation set out against damages done to lords’ parks and warrens by ‘butchers, shoemakers and tailors’, who hatched ‘plots and conspiracies of rebellion’ under the guise of hunting. In 1503–4 Henry VII responded by passing laws that targeted unauthorised stalking and restricted the possession of deer traps and great nets to the owners of parks and other reserves. The significance and value of land can be seen in the growing restrictions put in place over access to it, as well as questions over how and when access was granted.

The early Tudor landscape was layered with meaning, history, and purpose. Complex webs of terrain – both natural and manipulated – of animals, of boundaries, and of physical structures wove together to create a visual opulence fit not only for viewing but also for living a particular kind of lifestyle. By the sixteenth century, the landscape around an elite residence encompassed centuries of building, adaptation, imparkment, and design that created ever-expanding vistas of parks, gardens, orchards, and water features. Most of these landscapes were created not by a single owner of the residence but by successive owners, each forging a landscape in keeping with their household, residence, and political strategies.