Hever Castle

History

The Boleyn family held Hever Castle from 1462 to 1539. The main fortified castle with gatehouse and moat was built in the 1380s, though an earlier motte and bailey fortification occupied the site from the mid-13th century. Henry VIII is traditionally said to have courted Anne Boleyn here before she became his second queen consort. After Anne's execution, the castle later passed into the hands of Anne of Cleves, Henry's fourth wife. In 1903 the American businessman William Waldorf Astor bought the estate and carried out an extensive restoration, adding a Tudor-style guest village and a 38-acre lake.

Architecture

The core of the building is a fortified medieval castle built in the 1380s with a gatehouse, enclosed by the moat that still surrounds it. Astor's Edwardian-era additions, including timber-framed cottages built to look centuries old, were designed to sit comfortably alongside the original structure.

Worth knowing

Hever Castle is best known as the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. William Waldorf Astor's early twentieth-century Italian Garden was built to display the classical statuary and sculpture he collected on his travels.

Gardens & grounds

The 125-acre grounds include a lake, a yew maze and the Italian Garden, laid out by William Waldorf Astor to house his collection of statuary.