Bedrooms – Feature Fridays

July 10 2020 | Castle History

The theme for this week’s #FeatureFridays with Historic Houses is bedrooms.

Hever Castle has four bedrooms on display to visitors – the first of which is the bedroom thought to have been Anne Boleyn’s.

The half-domed ceiling is an original fifteenth-century feature designed to give a feeling of greater space and light.

Portraits of five of Henry VIII’s wives can be seen in the Queens’ Chamber which was recently reinstated as a bedroom. Visitors can see the beautiful wooden bedhead which former owner William Waldorf Astor bought believing it to be part of Anne Boleyn’s bed due to the inscription.

It is traditionally believed that Henry VIII stayed at the Castle on several occasions during his courtship with Anne Boleyn. The panelling in the King Henry VIII’s bedchamber, excluding the section over the fireplace, dates to the sixteenth century. The ceiling is the oldest in the Castle and dates from c.1462.

The Waldegrave room is presented as a bedroom and contains the oldest bed in the Castle, made of French oak and walnut and dated to 1485.

The Catholic Waldegrave family owned Hever Castle from 1557 until 1715. In 1584 an Oratory was added to the Waldegrave Room, hidden behind panelling so Sir Edward could practice his faith in secret. Henry Waldegrave, married an illegitimate daughter of James II. When James fled to France in 1688, Henry followed him in support of the Jacobite Cause.

Throughout the Astor family’s association with Hever, it remained a comfortable family home, albeit a lavish one. The homeliness is nowhere better seen than in the three small bedrooms in the Astor Suite corridor which were created in 1968 for the daughters of the house. Each was allowed to choose her own décor and the rooms were affectionately known as the Dog Kennels by the Astors.

Hever Castle also has a 5* luxury bed and breakfast with 28 bedrooms in an adjoining Edwardian wing added by Astor.

Find out more or book your stay here.

Hever Castle,new bedroom & bathrooms

If you enjoyed this item on bedrooms, then why not discover the previous #FeatureFridays news items:
American Connections
Weapons
Follies
Priest Holes
Orchards