This
beautiful and romantic 13th Century castle in Hever,
Kent, England, is still intact and open to the public. It
houses a museum in addition to its expansive gardens.
Hever Castle is most noted for being the childhood home
of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, and was
later the home of Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife.
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Left: Drawbridge and front
gate to Hever Castle. The oldest part of the
Castle was built in 1270, including the massive
gatehouse, wooden drawbridge, and moat. |
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| Above: Hever Castle on a
foreboding day |
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Left:
The grounds of Hever Castle include extensive
topiary gardens, a yew maze, a water maze, and a
majestic Italian garden with Roman sculpture. |
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In
1462, the Bullens acquired the castle and around 1505,
they added a more comfortable Tudor dwelling house inside
the castle walls. The Bullens married into other
prominent families, including the marriage of Sir Henry Hayden of Baconsthorpe
Castle,
who died in 1503, to Ann Boleyn, daughter of Sir Geoffrey
Bullen and aunt of Anne Boleyn, the second Queen of Henry
VIII.
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| The
Owners of Hever Castle, by Year |
| 1200 1270
1300 1340 1360 1380 1399 1408 _____ 1423 1430
1451 1462 _____ 1463 _____ 1505 _____ _____ _____
1538 1540 1557 1561 1589 1644 1659 1684 _____
_____ _____ 1689 1715 1731 1735 1736 1749 1786
_____ 1830 1840 1858 1896 1903 _____ 1919 _____
1962 _____ 1983 |
Walter de Hever
William de Hever, was Sheriff under Edward I
Thomas de Hever
William de Hever
Joan, heiress of William de Hever, married to Sir
Reginald de Cobham
Sir John de Cobham, buried at Hever Church
Sir Stephen Scrope
Sir John Fastolf, a Knight of the Garter, married
Millicent, widow of Sir Stephen Scrope
Sir Roger Fiennes
James Fiennes, 1st Baron Saye and Sele
William Fiennes, 2nd Baron Saye and Sele
Sir Geoffrey Bullen, Lord Mayor of London in 1459
married Anne, daughter of Lord Hoo & Hastings
Sir William Bullen, a Knight of the Bath, married
Margaret younger daughter and co-heir of Thomas
Butler, 7th Earl of Ormonde
Sir Thomas Bullen, a Knight of the Garter,
Viscount Rochford, 1525. Earl of Ormonde and Earl
of Wiltshire 1529, married Elizabeth, eldest
daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk;
father of Anne Boleyn and grandfather of Queen
Elizabeth I.
Sir James Bullen of Blickling
Anne of Cleves, fourth wife of Henry VIII
Sir Edward Waldegrave
Sir Charles Waldegrave
Sir Edward Waldegrave, 1st Baron of Hever Castle
Sir Henry Waldegrave, 2nd Baron of Hever Castle
Sir Charles Waldegrave, 3rd Baron of Hever Castle
Henry, 1st Baron of Waldegrave, Comptroller of
the Kings Household; married Henriette Fitz
James, natural daughter of King James II by
Arabella Churchill, sister of the first Duke of
Marlborough, and only daughter of the first
Winston Churchill
James, 2nd Baron Waldegrave, later created 1st
Earl Waldegrave
Sir William Humfreys, Lord Mayor of London
Sir Orlando Humfreys
Robert Humfreys
Mary & Ellen Humfreys, daughters &
co-heirs of Sir Orlando Humfreys
Sir Timothy Waldo, married Catherine Wakefield
Jane Waldo, married George Medley, member of
Parliament for East Grinstead
Jane Waldo, cousin of Jane Medley
Edmund Wakefield Meade Waldo
Edmund Waldo Meade Waldo
Edmund G B Meade Waldo
William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor of
Hever, married Mary Paul of Philadelphia
John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever,
married Violet, daughter 4th Earl of Minto K G
Gavin Astor, married Irene, daughter of Field
Marshall 1st Earl Haig of Bermersyde KT, Suceeded
his father in 1971 as 2nd Baron Astor of Hever
John Guthrie |
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Right: St. Peter's Church,
Hever, Kent. Parts of the church date to 1292,
although an earlier Norman church is recorded as
being in Hever as early as 1115. The church
includes the Bullen (Boleyn) chapel built in c.
1465.
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Left: Monumental brass of
Sir Thomas Bullen, father of Queen Anne Boleyn.
It depicts the full robes and insignia of a
Knight of the Garter, including the badge on his
left breast and garter around the left knee. The
brass is considered one of the finest in England. |
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Right: Brass inscription
on the tomb of Sir Thomas Bullen. The capital
Roman lettering and framing of the inscription
are unique.
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Left: Monumental brass of
Margaret Cheyne. The Latin inscription reads,
"Here lies Margaret Cheyne, once the wife of
William Cheyne, who died the 23rd day of the
month of August in the year of Our Lord 1419. On
whose soul may God have mercy. Amen." |
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