A Kent weekend

I have spent another lovely Kent weekend with my eldest son and family and travelling down on Thursday afternoon meant that I could go out for the day on Friday.  The county of Kent has so much history and this time I chose Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII.  My apologies for the angle of some of the photos but pictures had lighting above and so I had to take them at the side.

Anne Boleyn

The castle itself is quite small

Castle on the left

Castle complete with drawbridge and moat!!

and was built in 1270, but in the 15th and 16th centuries was the home of the Bullens.  Anne gentrified the name to Boleyn, to sound more French!!  Later the castle passed into the ownership of Anne of Cleves (Henry's fourth wife) whom he divorced and is nicknamed the Flanders Mare because she was supposed to be so ugly!  It gradually fell into decline until 1903, when it was bought by William Waldorf Astor, who restored the castle and built the 'Tudor' village behind for friends to stay.  He was very much an Anglophile.

I passed over the moat and into the courtyard

Quite small

and into the house where photography was permitted, without flash.

Postilions boots about 1690

These boots fascinated me as they were very wide but so sensible.  The postilion rode one horse of a pair pulling a coach and wore one of these to prevent his leg getting crushed between the two horses.  He would be wearing his own boots inside.  Sensible idea.

There were samples of 17thC 'stumpwork'  needlework -

 

The tester finely carved oak bed of Henry VIII made c1540

This carving of Henry is over the fireplace

Anne's bedhead

Anne's Book of Hours

I loved this Tunbridge ware writing slope c1860

made of tiny slivers of wood

- detail of above

The next two photos are modern translations of letters between Anne and the King (click to get a close up)

 

There was so much to see and do here and in the gardens, which were looking so burnt after all the dry weather.  However coming round a corner and sitting in the shade were these two

 

that were being looked after by a Parrot Rescue Centre and were having a day out!  I loved them as I have always wanted a parrot since I was quite young but my late husband wouldn't' let me (too expensive to buy) so I kept cockatiels instead!!

Next day we all went to 15th century Godinton House, near Ashford, much quieter than Hever Castle, but still very scorched by the sun.  The house was in the Toke family for 400 years but when the final owner, Alan Wyndham Green  died in 1996 ownership passed to a Trust that he had set up.

 

 

No photography inside this house but we had very knowledgeable guides to take us round, however first we looked round outside

The North Front

 

East side

 

South side

This pond was originally a swimming pool

The Italian garden and summerhouse

We also walked round the walled kitchen garden and greenhouses, the latter with very productive peach trees. 

Two very different houses but both full of history.