Book excerpt: With nearly 600 years of history, involving plots, intrigue, and paranormal activity, it is surprising that no one has ever before written the definitive history of the Rye House in Hertfordshire. Through meticulous research, Phil Holland has written this fascinating account, taking the reader from the House's fifteenth-century origins, through to Tudor times when Catherine Parr spent part of her childhood there; to the Rye House Plot of 1683, a plan to assassinate King Charles II and the Duke of York; to the widely reported paranormal activity and apparitions; and finally to the present day. The Gatehouse is all that now remains of the fifteenth-century brick-built fortified manor. The Moated Enclosure is considered to be one of the finest examples of the period in Hertfordshire. It is hoped that this book will enthuse people about the history of the Rye House so they might recognize its importance as a piece of history.