The site has been used ever since early Iron Age men came down the steep sides of their camp on the top of Wolstonbury Hill in search of game and fresh water. The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded that ‘Robert holds Herst of William’, i.e. that Robert de Pierpoint held the land from William de Warenne, who was a son-in-law of the Conqueror.

There has been a house of some sort on this site since the 13th century, originally little more than a hunting-lodge, serving the Park granted by Royal Charter in the 13th Century to the de Pierpoints. The house in its present form dates from 1586. It was built by Geroge Goring who held the lucrative post of ward of courts under Elizabeth 1. His grandson was made the Earl of Norwich and was one of the main financiers of King Charles 1 in the Civil War. The Earl’s son, Sir George Goring was a leading general in the Civil War. After four generations of Gorings, Danny was sold to Peter Courthope in 1650. In 1702, Barbara Courthope married Henry Campion, and in 1725 they made Danny their home, and soon undertook extensive alterations, as is confirmed by the date 1728 and their initials on the leaden water-pipes. Several generations of Campions followed.

The house has many historical links, the main one being in 1918, when it was rented for three months for Prime Minister Lloyd George. He lived here with his dog, his wife Margaret and his secretary/mistress Frances Stevenson. He held regular conferences in the Great Hall, where on 13 October they agreed the terms of the Armistice to be offered to Germany at the end of the Great War. There were some letters, written from Danny, from Lloyd George to Frances Stevenson, one of which read: