Wednesday 19 July 2017

Hever Castle


Hannah had a rare moment last weekend when she was child free and had a chance to visit Kent.
Like me, Hannah is a history buff, especially with Tudors, and with Kent being filled with hundreds of historic attractions we thought we would take advantage of this fact and go out for the day. Hever castle, the birth place of Anne Boleyn and part residence of Henry VIII, is only a short drive from mine so had to take advantage of the free time and visit!

Hever has had several stages throughout history. Originally a stately home that was inherited by Anne Boleyn’s father it quickly raised to being an important place in history. Although unsure, but suspected, whether Anne was born there the castle definitely held her family and she did grow up there until she was sent to the Netherlands in 1513 to receive an education at the court.

Obviously once Anne became the second queen consort of King Henry the place became a point in history.
Following on from inheritance and gifting to family purchases the castles history was lost and, whilst in procession of the Waldegrave Family, ended up being used to hold livestock and cattle!
That was until American millionaire William Waldorf Astor, who used it as a family residence, purchased it in 1903. Astor, already a Lord and having purchased stately homes, saw the history present and decided to restore the property to its Tudor glory. It is reported that, in today’s money, he spent almost £1bn to recreate Tudor cladding, floors, creating an Italian garden and grounds and purchasing furniture and paintings of that time.
Tudor style glass and window design

Our Trip
On entering the grounds towards the castle you instantly could feel and see how beautiful the grounds and castle was. Getting closer to the castle we could see a crowd forming and we noticed 2 knights guarding the entrance and shortly after we saw Henry VIII coming to proclaim the start of the jousting over on another part of the grounds.
Most of the crowds followed to watch but Hannah and I took advantage and visited the castle.
Firstly, despite the website having some accessibility warning I would say that there was some misunderstanding on what I would see as accessible compared to the sites information. I would say that the castle ISN’T wheelchair accessible as the castle has 3 steps going down to the courtyard and due to the layout they can’t add a ramp. However, this didn’t stop us and the staff there were amazing!
One man in particular, who we sadly didn’t take the name of, helped wheel me down carefully and then lift the chair up the steps on the way out.
The ground floor of the castle is tight but accessible once you are there and because of the layout they provide an iPad so you can have a tour of the upstairs. Luckily, between Hannah and I we saw all of the castle in one form or another.
In the Astor wing: 1920's Lounge
The library was absolutely beautiful. It kept in keeping with the lounge style but the shelves were full of such amazing, interesting and even moreish books such as the diaries of Samuel Peeps, books in Latin and French.
In the great hall and dining room Astor had a carpenter carve the fireplace that matches the style of many regal types of that era. Above it is a wooden coat of arms of Anne Boleyns!
Along the opposing wall was this lovely tapestry. The dining room can actually be hired out for special events! The idea of sitting in such a place and eating would be an amazing experience!
Placed around the castle were different pieces of furniture that has survived from that era. Little features such as this really helps get you in the mind set of what it was like to live in a place like this.
Upstairs had a different feel. You had the different floors and rooms covering the different stages. One area was dedicated to Anne and Henry where snippets of information and life could be found.
Painting of Anne Boleyn
As well as information of the gifting of the premises to Anne of Cleaves as part of the annulment.
One room I found really interesting was this little communion room. It is, in all sense of the size and feel of it, no more than an "en-suite" but due to the change of religious beliefs from Catholic to Protestant many catholic families had a place to go and pray and worship that was also hidden. This looked on the outside as another panel to the wooden cladding around the side but once inside a really religious setting, It is amazing to think that people of that time did such things in private for fear of condemnation and losing of "court position".

Finally there were the 3 bedrooms also called the "dog kennels" where the Astor children slept. All very similar in space and size but clearly all decorated different to match the childrens individual taste.
The Maze
Next to the castle is a yew maze. I remember as a child loving it but we both decided not to go in as the ground was gravelled and would have been a nightmare to push me round in.
The Castle Gardens
The gardens were truly breath-taking! The layout is perfect and accessible for all and the only thing I would say is to make sure that you save your lunch to sit and enjoy the scenery; something we regretted not doing!
Different cut Topiaries.
The Italian garden was full of archways and garden ornaments as well as hidden corners. Along the side of archway was full of what only I can call mini waterfalls.  Water was slowly running down the walls over more beautifully designed sculptures.
So many beautiful flowers growing along the walls.
Walls and waterfalls dripping into wells.

The Rose Gardens
Whilst exploring the ground we turned a corner and saw rose gardens. This alone was a spectacle to see; bushes filled with hundreds of different coloured roses and the scent was incredible. I don’t think these photos do it justice in any way!


We had a fantastic day there and we could have spent even more time there to really soak up the atmosphere!
Obviously there was a certain loss of magic knowing that everything was recreated and wouldn’t have been the same as when Anne lived there but it was easily forgotten. You are instantly caught in the Tudor theme of the buildings and structures as well as the romantic presence that the grounds recreated. This added to the history themed characters and shows made it a trip that I won’t forget; which I am sure Hannah would agree with!

5 comments:

Lisa - Little Orange Dog said...

I used to love that maze too, not sure I'd go it in now either, but that's because knowing me I'd be lost for days!

Hannah said...

I loved our visit and thought it was wonderful. As I said to you though I did feel magic was lost knowing how much had changed and knowing what the layout would've been but wasn't recreated as such was sad but understandable.
The gardens were wonderful and although I knew about the floors of the castle I was disappointed at the accessibility to get there, again I get why that is though. The staff were all ace though:)

Becster said...

What an amazing place. Looks like such a great place to visit. Shame about the accessibility issues though but I'm glad that the staff helped you so you got to see the place. Great photos!

Plutoniumsox.com said...

Sounds like a brilliant place to visit and how fab that you and Hannah have this in common. It must make it easier for her to put up with you. I must say she takes brilliant photos too!
Nat.x

JOhn Adams said...

Loved the write-up Martyn. We used to have annual membership of Hever so went many, many times (until we realised National trust membership came with access to many more places at the same price!). My kids loved it and learned so much about Tudor history. I can well imagine it is not the most accessible place if using a wheelchair but I am glad the staff were so helpful. I want to visit again now!