Rural England:
Visiting England's Historic Hever Castle
Story and photos by Margaret Rodgers
Hever Castle, located in lovely countryside south-east of London, is
perhaps one of the most enchanting moated castles in Britain. Not only is
the castle attractive from the outside, it is simply gorgeous inside, and
it is steeped in the kind of history that everybody loves to hear—about
the sordid activities of Henry VIII, and of Anne Boleyn, his second wife,
who was beheaded.
The oldest part of the castle was built in 1270, and consisted of a
massive gatehouse and walled Bailey surrounded by a moat (we could still
see an excellent example of a portcullis when we went over the
drawbridge). It wasn't until 1500 that the Boleyn family (then spelt
Bollen) added a comfortable Tudor house inside the walls.
Anne Boleyn was born at Hever Castle in 1509, but she spent much of her
childhood at court in France where her father, Sir Thomas Bollen, was an
Ambassador. After the family's return to Hever, Anne was appointed
lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife, and
thus she attracted the attention of the king.
When Henry proposed to Anne she reminded him that he already had a
wife, and refused to be his mistress. This was a huge challenge to Henry
who went against both the Church and the Law to marry Anne. He first
removed England from the jurisdiction of the Pope and established the
Church of England, with himself as Head; he suppressed the monasteries,
and started the Reformation—all for the love of Anne Boleyn!
In January 1533 Anne and Henry were married, six months before his
divorce was actually finalized, and Anne was already pregnant with the
baby that was to be the future Queen Elizabeth I.
However, Anne had several miscarriages and a still-born son, and Henry
was outraged because he wanted a son and heir. After all, hadn't he
mortgaged his very soul to get one? On May 2, 1536, Anne was arrested and
imprisoned in the Tower of London on a trumped-up charge of High Treason
and later executed, so Henry was free to remarry.
Henry then murdered Anne's brother, appropriated Hever Castle and later
gave it to another wife, Anne of Cleves, who owned it for the next 17
years. At her death it was bought by the family who became the 1st Baronet
of Hever Castle, but from 1749-1903 it fell into disrepair until it was
bought by the American millionaire, William Waldorf Astor.
The Astor family is a classic story of "rags to riches". In
1783 a butcher's boy named Johann Jakob Astor emigrated from Germany to
America where he became a successful trapper. He eventually set up a
trading base at the mouth of the Columbia River in north west Oregon which
was named Astoria in his honour.
However, he became disillusioned with America, developed a passionate
love for Europe, and took his fortune (estimated at $100 million) and
moved to England. In 1903 he acquired Hever Castle and began to restore
it, and, happily for his efforts, in 1916 he was created Viscount Astor,
the 1st Baron of Hever Castle.
However, a problem arose in that the castle itself was too small for
William Astor to both live in and entertain, therefore he decided to build
a Tudor-style village for his guests. Proving that $100 million can indeed
achieve miracles, he had both the public road and the River Eden moved to
create space for his village, which is a marvel of architecture.
Each house is distinct, built of different materials, in different
shapes, angles and styles, the result being a series of charming
individual cottages, which we could see from each side of the castle,
joined by corridors and service areas.
Finally, Viscount Astor combed the world for objects of art to decorate
and furnish his castle, and the result is a treasure house of collections
set in elaborately-decorated rooms, in many of which the plaster work and
woodwork is incredibly and intricately beautiful.
Yet Hever Castle is a warm, friendly kind of castle in which we could
actually imagine living—a stately home which can be visited time and
again when, each time, you are likely to discover something new.
He created many gloriously colourful gardens of many different styles,
most notably the Italian Garden, which leads down to a laggia at the lake.
William Astor died in 1919 but, fortunately, his family continued with
his restorative work and also contributed enormously to charity. In 1963,
the 2nd Baron Astor of Hever decided to open the castle to the public, and
at his death the 3rd and present Baron, John Jacob, continued to do so,
although the Tudor village remains private for guests at the many special
functions which take place in the castle. Ah, how we would have liked to
be included on that particular guest list!
Anne and her father are buried in St. Peter's Church in Hever Village
just outside the castle grounds, just across the road from the Henry VIII
pub, where we would have loved to have had time to down a pint!
For history buffs: the Tudor Long Gallery in Hever Castle
features scenes from the life and times of Anne Boleyn; and the Astors
of Hever Exhibition illustrates the important part the Astor family
played in the restoration of the castle and gardens. If you can't
remember your history lessons and ask: "Who were Henry VIII's
wives, and what happened to each of them?" I'll save you the trouble
of looking it up!
- Divorced: Catherine of Aragon
- Beheaded: Anne Boleyn
- Died : Jane Seymour
- Divorced: Anne of Cleves
- Beheaded: Catherine Howard
- Outlived Henry: Catherine Parr
About the photos:
Top: Hever Castle in its storybook setting.
Middle: A portion of the village built by William Astor.
Bottom: One of the Gardens at Hever Castle.
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