Hever Castle & Gardens

Discover 700 years of history in the childhood home of Anne Boleyn.

The original medieval defensive castle, with its gatehouse and walled bailey, was built in 1270. In the 15th and 16th centuries it was the home of one of the most powerful families in the country, the Boleyns, who added the Tudor dwelling within the walls.

The Castle was to become the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII's second wife, who became Queen of England for just 1,000 days. It was Henry's love for Anne and her insistence that she became his wife rather than his mistress that led to the King renouncing Catholicism and creating the Church of England.

Hever later passed into the ownership of another of Henry VIII's wives, Anne of Cleves, and from 1557 onwards it was owned by a number of families including the Waldegraves, the Humphreys and the Meade Waldos. Gradually it fell into decline before William Waldorf Astor invested time, money and imagination in restoring the Castle at the turn of the 20th century.

The splendid rooms of the Castle contain fine furniture, tapestries, antiques, an important collection of Tudor paintings and two prayer books inscribed and signed by Anne Boleyn herself. The award-winning gardens include the Italian Garden with its 38 acre lake and the spectacular Loggia with its very own Trevi Fountain.

Groups of 15 or more can enjoy special rates with events on at different times of the year.

For more information
Visit www.hevercastle.co.uk/visit/groups/,
Email: groups@hevercastle.co.uk
Tel: 01732 861701.