Hever & Penshurst

Day9 Hever & Penshurst

Today we drive south out of London to the high Weald of Kent to Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn deep in the heart of Kent. Hever, is a great place to visit with huge ornamental gardens and lake built by JJ Astor in the early 1900’s.

The castle itself is very small but packed with paintings, tapestries and furniture together with Henry VIII and all the six wives costumes. One of the most curious paintings is of Elizabeth I but it appears to have been doctored with a huge ruff that frames her face. The painting also looks very much like a painting of Lady Jane Grey we saw at Syon house at the beginning of the tour, I would love to see the painting x-rayed to see if it has been doctored at all.

There were lots of school parties around the place and most of the boys were just looking for the torture room. Hever features in nearly all the Tudor period films and TV series, there is one scene in Anne of a Thousand days where Henry and Anne ride out of the castle over a low grassy hill. It looks very real except the grassy hill bit.

A great deal of filming of period pieces takes place at nearby Penshurst place, many scenes from Anne of a thousand days and the other Boleyn Girl were filmed there. Penshurst has been in the Sidney family for 500 years. Both of the great houses were given to Anne of Cleves as part of the divorce settlement and Elizabeth I stayed here a great deal, so much so that she neglected ruling the country. It is here we find the famous “La Volta” painting. To me it shows very real evidence of the close and intimate relationship between Elizabeth and Robert Dudley, you’ll have to see it for yourselves to see what I mean.

Tonight we’re staying in the Rose and Crown in Tonbridge and after dinner we had a gentle stroll around the ancient Norman castle of Tonbridge which is just opposite.

www.tudorhistorytours.com