Heraldry

The coats of arms in the stained glass in the Long Gallery of the Castle commemorate the different owners of Hever Castle since it was built. It is from these windows that inspiration and elements were taken to create the Hever Castle logo and the flag that flies above the Castle.

The design encompasses the most significant historical owners of the Castle in terms of their impact on its development. These 4 families being: de Cobham, Boleyn, Anne of Cleves and Astor. Read more about the Heraldry below.

De Cobham

Gules (red), with a cross argent (silver)

Gules (red): Warrior or martyr; Military strength and magnanimity

Argent (white or silver): Peace and sincerity

Chevron: Protection; Builders or others who have accomplished some work of faithful service

Boleyn

Argent (silver), a chevron gules (red) between three bulls heads couped sable (black), armed Or (gold).

Suggested meaning:
Argent (white or silver): Peace and sincerity

Chevron: Protection; Builders or others who have accomplished some work of faithful service

Gules (red): Warrior or martyr; Military strength and magnanimity

Bull: Valour, bravery, generosity

Anne of Cleves Stained Glass Hever Castle

Anne of Cleves

Quarterly of seven:

Gules, an Inescutcheon Argent, overall an escarbuncle Or (Cleves)

Or, a lion rampant sable Black Lion on gold (Jülich)

Azure, a lion rampant Or, langued and armed gules (Schwarzburg)

Argent, a lion rampant gules, langued azure, armed, and crowned Or (Limburg)

Or, a fess chequy Gules and Argent of three (Mark)

Argent, a lion rampant gules, queue fourchée crossed in saltire, armed, langued, and crowned azure (Berg)

Argent, three chevrons gules (Ravensberg)

Suggested meaning:
Gules (red): Warrior or martyr; Military strength and magnanimity

Argent (white or silver): Peace and sincerity

Sable (black): wisdom, grief, constancy and prudence

Or (yellow or gold): Generosity and elevation of the mind

Azure (blue): loyalty, chastity, truth, strength and faith

Lion: courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour

Astor

Or (gold), a falcon close gules (red), between two fleur-de-lys gules.  (On our flag it is: Or, a falcon close perched on a glove gules, between two fleur-de-lys gules).

Suggested meaning:
Falcon: One who does not rest until objective achieved

Gules (red): Warrior or martyr; Military strength and magnanimity

Or (yellow or gold): Generosity and elevation of the mind

The Castle

History

Uncover the history of the 14th century castle once the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Sir John Fastolf and William Waldorf Astor.

Owners

Uncover more about the 12 different families that have owned Hever Castle from 1383 to the present day. See the stained glass created to commemorate them.

Rooms

Head inside the Castle and discover wood panelled rooms, roaring fireplaces and a vast collection of paintings.

Conservation

Discover how Hever Castle’s curatorial team work closely with specialists in conservation to preserve items in the Castle and Garden.