Sir Nicholas Vaux, a man "of a generous, liberal and festive disposition, and equally fitted for the camp or the court", entertained King Henry VIII at Harrowden Hall.

During the Civil War, Charles I came frequently to Harrowden to play bowls with the then Lord Vaux. "A quaint old summer house" (gazebo) close to the bowling green is where he and his courtiers used to refresh themselves after their games." The restored summer house now stands proudly in the middle of the first fairway.