Waldegrave – 16th and 17th centuries
When Anne of Cleves died in 1557 the Hever estate reverted to the Crown. In that year Sir Edward Waldegrave, a member of Mary Tudor’s Council, had been appointed one of the Commissioners for the sale of Crown land and promptly assigned himself the Castle and estate of Hever. When the Catholic Queen Mary died and the Protestant Elizabeth I came to the throne, Sir Edward was deprived of his appointments and was arrested for allowing Mass to be celebrated in his house. Sir Edward was sent to the Tower of London and remained there until his death in 1561.
Edward’s son, Charles, had risen in the world with his father, becoming a Privy Councillor and Master of the Queen’s Horse. However, with the downfall of his father, Charles lost all his appointments and retired to Hever Castle with his wife Jeronyma. As a Catholic, he could play no further part in national affairs and so he spent time refurbishing the Castle.
When Charles died in 1589, his son Edward adopted Hever Castle as his principal residence. In 1642, at the age of seventy, Edward raised a regiment of horses and joined Charles I in the Civil War. He was created 1st Baronet of ‘Heaver’ Castle but died two years later.