Inside Hever Castle.

My last article gave a glimpse of the exterior of Hever Castle. I attempt now to show how the interior appeared, that long ago summer's day seven years ago, and discuss also the Hever Castle of close to five hundred years, when Anne Boleyn slept within its stone walls.

Since the castle was first built in 1270, it has experienced periods of great neglect, followed by extensive re-building. Such was the case in 1457, when Geoffrey Boleyn bought the castle in great disrepair, then went on to make it a comfortable home for his family and descendants. During the more settled period of the later Tudors, a castle such as Hever rarely needed to be put to its original purpose, protecting all within and without from armed assault, rather those people high on the English social scale began to use homes to showcase their wealth. This is what happened at Hever Castle, one of the 'homes' of the upwardly mobile Boleyn clan.

Still possessing the dark timber from the Tudor era, the castle's Entrance hall leads to the inner hall, once serving as the Boleyn's 'Great Kitchen.' Here, in pride of place upon a mantelpiece, is a replica of a clock given by Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn, his new bride. Portraits abound in the castle, original Tudor art as well as copies of paintings from the period. On one wall, we gaze at a Holbein painting of Henry VIII alongside portraits of Anne and Mary Boleyn from the Holbein school. On another wall hangs a portrait of Philip II, surrounded by some of the women in his life: his mother, Isabella of Portugal, his second wife, Mary Tudor, and his third wife, Elisabeth Valois, her portrait painted by the famous French artist Clouet.

The Dining Hall was originally the Boleyn's Great Hall. Over its fireplace, a rectangular tapestry depicts the arms of Henry VIII. Wall tapestries featured greatly in the Tudor period, as they were not only items of great beauty but also provided the castle's inhabits some means of keeping the fire's warmth within its draughty confines. Affixed to the dining room doors are copies of locks that Henry VIII took on his travels around his Kingdom. His Locksmith, one of the servants accompanying the King when he stayed at the home of a subject, would attach a lock the door of the King's sleeping chamber, as a protective measure against the King's enemies.

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