William de Wessyngton was a forebear of George Washington,[4] the first President of the United States, after whom the US capital and many other places in the United States are named. Though George Washington's great-grandfather John Washington left for Virginia from Hertfordshire, Washington Old Hall was the family home of George Washington's ancestors. The present structure incorporates small parts of the medieval home in which they lived.[5] American Independence Day is marked each year by a ceremony at Washington Old Hall.