HEE-vur

England

Kent

Edenbridge

51.186944

0.113889

13th century core w/later alterations and additions

Fully Extant

Grade I

Grade I

No

II, 266, 1897. XXII, 522, 558, 1907. XLVI, 511, 1919. CLXIX, 18, 66, 1981.

Yes

Yes

01732-865-224

01732-866-796

Christie's/HHA Garden of the Year Award 1995.

Corporation

Mixed Use

House is owned by Hever Castle Ltd. (part of John Guthrie's Broadland Properties group) and is used as a visitor attraction and conference center.

Boleyn (Bullen) family, 15th-16th centuries. Anne of Cleves, 16th century. Waldegrave family, 1557-1717. Meade-Waldo family, 1749-1903. Astor family, 1903-82.

An earlier castle existed on the site of the 16th century manor house, parts of which were incorporated into the current house.

Bullen (Boleyn) family

Hever is a moated castle with 13th century fragments (the walled bailey and the gatehouse date from circa 1270) and was once the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife and mother of Elizabeth I (Henry courted Anne at Hever). The Bullen family (the name was later changed to Boleyn) purchased Hever in the early 16th century and added the Tudor manor house within the earlier castle walls. After Anne’s execution and the death of her father, Henry VIII seized Hever and gave it to Anne of Cleves, his 4th wife, as part of her divorce settlement. Anne of Cleves remained at Hever Castle until her death in 1557, when the Waldegrave family purchased the Castle. The Waldegraves remained seated at Hever for another 160 years; Sir Edward Waldegrave became the first Baronet of Hever Castle in 1642. Between 1749 and 1903 the Meade-Waldo family owned Hever. By the end of the 19th century the Castle was in a poor state of repair -- enter William Waldorf Astor, an American millionaire, who purchased Hever in 1903 and spent much time and money restoring it. He was later made a British citizen and 1st Lord Astor of Hever. The Astor family owned Hever until the Estate was dismantled and the House sold in 1982-83. Since 1983 the Castle has been owned by Broadland Properties Limited through its subsidiary, Hever Castle Ltd.

Some contents were sold on May 5, 1983, including Giovanni Paolo Negroli’s suit of three-quarter armor made for Henri II of France, sold to Rothschild Reserve International of New York for £1,951,250. A Flemish suit of three-quarter armor belonging to the 3rd Earl of Southampton was sold from Hever and purchased by the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London. The collection at Hever includes two books of hours, both signed and inscribed by Anne Boleyn. There is also a fine collection of Tudor portraits, tapestries, and furniture. On Apr 28, 2003 five miniature portraits worth about £100,000 were stolen from Hever; the stolen pieces included two of Mary, Queen of Scots; Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, Henry VIII's adviser who was executed for treason in 1540; Queen Mary; and Anne of Austria, the wife of Louis XIII.

Between 1904 and 1908 William Waldorf Astor further enhanced the Castle's romantic setting by creating glorious gardens, with much of the work designed by Joseph Cheal and Son; these include the Italian Garden (designed to display William Waldorf Astor's collection of Italian sculpture from Roman to Renaissance times), the Yew Maze, the 35-acre lake, and the Rose Garden. The Italian Garden took over two years to construct, with over 1,000 men working continuously on the project; it took 800 men to dig out the 35-acre lake at the far end of the Italian Garden. The Rose Garden (with over 3,000 plants), the Tudor Herb Garden (opened in 1994), the Yew Maze, and the 110-meter herbaceous border have won awards. Hever was also the winner of the HHA/Christie's Garden of the Year Award, 1995. In addition, Astor built a Tudor style village to accommodate guests and visitors. The grounds also contain the Two Sisters Pond, the Half Moon Pond, the Cascade Rockery, and a formal loggia fountain based on the Trevi Fountain in Rome. In the late 20th century the Millennium Fountain was added on Sixteen Acre Island.

"Anne of the Thousand Days" (1969). "The Wicked Lady" (1983). "Lady Jane" (1985). "The Princess Bride" (1987). "Bullseye". "The Darling Buds of May" (TV series). "King Ralph" (1991). "Henry VIII" (1997 - documentary series). "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" (2001 - mini series).