HISTORY-HAUNTED
HEVER CASTLE
by
Bruce Burnett
When
American multi-millionaire William Wardorf Astor purchased the 500-year
old Hever Castle in Kent, England in 1903, the place was little better
than a picturesque ruin.
Built in 1270, Hever Castle was bought by Geoffrey Bullen in 1479. Bullen
was a man of humble origins who was to climb the social ladder to become
the Lord Mayor of London. One of his grandchildren was the ill-starred
Anne Boleyn, the change of surname being part of the social climbing strategy.
It was under the ownership of the Bullens that Hever experienced its Gothic
drama.
Two years after Anne's birth at Hever Castle, Henry Tudor, 18, succeeded
to the English throne as King Henry VIII. He secretly married Catherine
of Aragon, the 24-year-old widow of his elder brother Arthur. Their marriage
- a true love match by all contemporary accounts - produced only one child
from eight pregnancies. That was a daughter, the future Queen Mary I.
Anne Bullen spent much of her time at court, pushed forward by her ambitious
and domineering father. When she was seven she traveled to France in the
train of Henry's sister Mary Tudor, who was to marry King Louis XIII.
By the time Anne was 18 she was back at Hever Castle and the unwilling
recipient of the attention of Henry VIII who was by now desperate for
the male heir that he believed Catherine could not give him.
King Henry, a Catholic monarch firmly married to Queen Catherine first
proposed marriage to Anne in 1527. Anne responded with a letter that said:
"Your wife I cannot be, both in respect of my own unworthiness and
also because you have a Queen already. Your mistress I will not be."
The Pope refused Henry's request for a divorce or annulment.
Undeterred, Henry dramatically removed England from the jurisdiction of
the Pope, created the Church of England with himself at its head, dissolved
the monasteries and set the reformation in motion. All for the love of
Anne Bullen of Hever Castle.
In January 1533 Anne (already pregnant) and Henry were married, although
another six months would elapse before Henry's divorce from Catherine
would be finalized under the rules of the new church. Anne changed her
name to Boleyn to accord with her new dignity and she was crowned Queen
of England in Westminster Abbey on June 1st 1533. Her baby was born on
September 7th, but instead of a son it was a girl: the future Queen Elizabeth
1.
The castle was then appropriated by Henry and in 1540 he gave it to yet
another of his wives, Anne of Cleves. Within six months of this marriage
they were divorced. Anne retained ownership of Hever Castle for another
17 years.
On the death of Anne of Cleves in 1557, Hever Castle was bought by the
Waldegraves and prospered with the fortunes of that family for 160 years.
In 1963, Gavin Astor, the grandson of William Wardorf, opened Hever Castle
for the first time to the public. A small fortune had been spent by William
Wardorf in the restoration of the castle, including the construction of
an authentic Tudor village containing more than 100 rooms
The fascinating attractions of Hever are too many to list, but a few should
be mentioned. The library, for example, is one of the finest examples
in Britain of the cabinetmaker's art. The bookcases and paneling are made
from a South American wood called sabicu, which is harder than ebony and
so dense that it sinks in water.
The 12-hectare (30 acres) garden should not be missed. It was created
by the Astors from marshland and rough meadow in 1904-8 and is now at
full maturity. Of special note is the Italian Garden, which contains sculptures
and statues dating from Roman times to the Renaissance. They were collected
by William Wardorf Astor when he was American Minister in Italy.
Italian
Garden at Hever Castle
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Behind
the Italian Garden is the Pavilion Restaurant, a licensed, self-service
restaurant serving hot and cold meals. The King Henry VIII Inn, opposite
the main entrance to Hever Castle, is also open for morning coffee
and good pub food at lunchtime. The Anne Boleyn Restaurant is open
for dinner. |
Hever
Castle is near the town of Edenbridge in Kent, 40 kilometers (25 miles)
southeast of London.
HISTORY-HAUNTED
HEVER CASTLE
was first published in the Kelowna Capital News
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