Day 4: Tower of London Day - Tributes to Anne Boleyn | Behind the Scenes

The Anne Boleyn Tour, May 2025

Hello fellow history lover!

Today:

• Tower of London

• Anne’s execution and burial sites

• Tower Hill Scaffold site

• Talk from Gareth Russell

• Private performance of music from Anne Boleyn’s court, with Jay Britton.

When Anne Boleyn was brought to the Tower of London on 2nd May 1536, she arrived by barge after a long, painfully slow, journey up river from Greenwich Palace which took between 5-6 hours!

She was brought in by the Byward Postern, a small door in the Byward Tower on the river side.

Many people react with distaste as the suggestion made that she came in via ‘Traitor’s Gate’ but this was a much more public and humiliating entrance into the Tower for Anne. The Queen was being publicly brought to the Tower….she must have done something very wrong!

The site of her execution is also misunderstood, misled by the glass

monument placed on Tower Green. The monument replaces an earlier plaque ordered by Queen Victoria and in fact is a memorial to the people executed in Tower Green. To be executed within the confines of the Tower was a dubious privilege, but it was a more private affair than that endured by victims on Tower Hill, nearby. It was comparatively rare and thus there was no permanent scaffold site and hence the exact location of any of the executions, including Anne’s, is known. All is not lost however, sources indicate that the scaffold was erected between the White Tower and where the Waterloo Barracks (where you can see the Crown Jewels) now stands.

Her burial place, although known to be in St Peter ad Vincula, the chapel next to Tower Green, and somewhere in the high altar area, exactly where has not, and possibly never will be, identified. A Victorian floor plaque with her name is often the focus for visitors who wish to pay their respects.

It is particularly poignant to be at the Tower on the 19th May, the anniversary of her death, and be able to pay our respects to the woman who has brought us all together on this experience.

Whilst at the Tower we also offer our guests the opportunity to listen to a talk from Gareth at the Tower Hill execution site, the place where all 5 men accused alongside Anne, including her own brother George Boleyn, were beheaded by the axe. The other men were; Sir William Brereton, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston and Mark Smeaton.

The men were killed one after the other, in order of rank, on 17th May. Anne expected to die on the 18th but there was a delay, and she was executed on the 19th May. Anne was beheaded by a sword, the wielder of which was an expert French executioner who must have been sent for before Anne’s trial in the Great Hall at the Tower on the 15th May, had even taken place.

On returning to Hever Castle, our group were led into the castle to view Anne’s Book of Hours, turned to the page with her signature. Incredibly special.

After time to freshen up we met for our final talk of the tour, Gareth Russell ‘The downfall of Anne Boleyn. Deciphering the tragedy and horror of 1536.

Our alfresco dinner tonight was enjoyed whilst we were transported back to the Tudor court and music Anne would not only have recognised but indeed performed herself, sung by the sublime Jay Britton and her lutenist James.

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‘The Anne Boleyn Tour’ concludes tomorrow with our final leisurely morning at Hever Castle before returning to London. I hope you have enjoyed these daily “behind-the-scenes” articles following the original tour delving into the life and downfall of Anne Boleyn.

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Join me and Gareth Russell on The Anne Boleyn Tour in 2026!

You can join in yourself on The Anne Boleyn Tour in 2026! The tour dates are 18th - 22nd May 2026.

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