Hever Castle

Thomas Cromwell’s Book of Hours recognised….!

Jul 28, 2023

anniversaries, art, buildings, Events, law, religion

Anne Boleyn, Book of Hours, Catherine of Aragon, executions, exhibitions, Hans Holbein, Hever Castle, Kent, technology, Thomas Cromwell, Trinity College, Wren Digital Library

The news has broken that the Book of Hours belonging to Thomas Cromwell is here which appears in the Holbein portrait above, has been recognised (by Hever Castle curator, Alison Palmer) as the Hardouyn Hours, held today at Trinity College, Cambridge. You can view the Hardouyn Hours page by page at the Wren Digital…
An armillary sphere to fit a medieval finger….

May 12, 2023

art, buildings, Science

armilliary sphere, astronomy, gardens, Hever Castle, jewellery, Merriam-Webster, rings, Whipple Museum

I didn’t know what an armillary sphere was until I saw this page and was prompted to look it up at Merriam Webster, where the definition is:- “ar·mil·la·ry sphere: an old astronomical instrument composed of rings showing the positions of important circles of the celestial sphere”. Then I realised that such spheres are often seen in…
The portrait at Hever Castle is more like Henry VI than Richard III….

Oct 10, 2021

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, law, religion, The play’s the thing

“Princes”, Anne Boleyn, Battle of Bosworth, character, Domenico Mancini, Henry VI, Henry VII, Hever Castle, Kent, Richard III, royal portraits, Sir William Boleyn, treachery

I’ve seen this (awful!) portrait of Richard before. It just doesn’t look like him, more one of the invented Tudor versions of him, i.e. monstrous and evil, or weak and terrified of all things Tudor. This one fits the ‘weak and terrified’ mould, and if it were listed as a portrait of Henry VI, I’d…
Walking “Tudor” England

Aug 10, 2021

battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion, television reviews, travel

“Bloody Mary”, “Tudors”, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Arthur “Tudor”, Ashdown Forest, attainder, Austin Friars, bear-baiting, Bishops of London, Bridewell Palace, brothels, Cambridge, cannon, Channel Five, Christopher Hatton, Clifford’s Tower, conspiracies, dancing, de heretico comburendo, Dutch refugees, East Midlands, Edmund Bonner, Edward of Buckingham, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, excommunication, executions, exile, fire, Framlingham Castle, Fulham Palace, Greenwich Palace, Grey-Dudley rebellion, Gunpowder Plot, Guy Fawkes, Hampton Court, Henry Earl of Huntingdon, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, Henry VIII, Hever Castle, James VI/I, Jane, John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, John Foxe, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, Katherine Howard, Kenilworth Castle, Kenninghall, Kett Rebellion, Leicester, London, Lord Chancellor, Lord Guildford Dudley, Margaret Clitherow, Mary Stuart, Mass, Michelham Priory, naval power, Nicholas Ridley, Northern Earls’ Rebellion, Norwich, Penshurst Place, Pilgrimage of Grace, Pontefract, Portsmouth, recusants, Ripon Cathedral, Robert Aske, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, royal barges, royal hunting estates, Rushton Triangular Lodge, severed heads, Sir Henry Dudley, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Thomas Tresham, Sir Walter Raleigh, Southwark, St. Mary’s Abbey, Stamford, Suzannah Lipscomb, The Globe, Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Stafford, tobacco, torture, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Will Kemp, William Cecil, William Shakespeare, Wyatt Rebellion, Yorkshire Museum

Suzannah Lipscomb has just completed another series on Channel Five, this time visiting the sites related to the “Tudors”. In the first episode, she concentrated on Henry VIII and the naval power he inherited from John Howard, Duke of Norfolk. The second was principally about the penultimate “Tudor”, Mary I, as well as Edward VI…
Hever Castle’s ‘New’ Richard III Painting (and Starkey’s Same-Old)

Apr 7, 2020

art, humour

Boleyn family, David Starkey, Henry VIII, Hever Castle, portraits, Richard III

A ‘new’ late 16th century portrait of Richard III has recently emerged and gone on display at Hever Castle, home of the Boleyn family–and with it appeared the not-so-cuddly figure of the perennially grumpy and bombastic Tudor historian, David Starkey. Since he is not an art expert, the reason why he was commenting is slightly…
Fancy a stay in a castle? Here are 17 to choose from….!

Jun 15, 2019

buildings

accommodation, castles, Hever Castle

Well, how about staying in a castle – in the style to which we just know we should be accustomed? Here is the introduction. “Modern life, eh? It’s so full of stress. Whether its our phones bleeping with work emails through the night or the chaos of city life, sometimes escaping can be very tempting…
Father of a Queen: Thomas Boleyn

Oct 10, 2017

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, travel

Anne Boleyn, arms, Battle of Bosworth, Cambridge University, Edenbridge, Elizabeth Howard, Elizabeth Tilney, Geoffrey Boleyn, George Viscount Rochford, Gonville Hall, Hever Castle, James IV, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, Kent, Lord Privy Seal, Margaret Cheyne, Mary “Tudor”, Mary Boleyn, pubs, Richard III, Sheriff, Thomas Boleyn Earl of Wiltshire, Thomas Earl of Surrey, tombs, William Boleyn

Two miles from Edenbridge in Kent lies the small but attractive castle of Hever. Originally built in 1270, it was taken over 1462 by Geoffrey Bullen (or Boleyn) younger brother of Thomas Boleyn , Master of Gonville Hall, a constituent college of Cambridge. Geoffrey had a son called William and he in turn fathered Thomas…