I actually have two special places for you today!
Hever Castle
Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn has always been a special place to visit, not least because you are moving around the space that she and her family once lived. With a new permanent exhibition at the Castle it is now easy to feel like you have travelled back in time and to the house of Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn and their children Mary, Anne and George. I went to visit the castle recently and am very grateful to Assistant Curator Kate McCaffrey for showing me around the new rooms and giving me a fascinating insight into the research that went into the exhibition and also what the curatorial team's research has revealed about how the rooms were used and what happened here during Anne's time. You can hear mine and Kate's chat, as we walk around the rooms, on this channel, it will be released in August.
BONUS - West Horsley Place.
I also visited West Horsley Place, in Surrey, this week. Unsure of what I was to find, I didn't initially include it in the title and thumbnail for this episode but WOW that a fascinating and historically significant place it turned out to be! Owned twice by Henry VIII, who made alterations and additions to the property showing that he must have used it with some frequency, but also the venue for a dinner for him when his cousin, Henry Courtney, lived there - a dinner for which the menu survives!! That is just the beginning, join me as I reveal to you some of the history which I myself have only just learned this week, thank to the generous staff at West Horsley Place with a special mention to Clare Clinton. To donate to the conservation of West Horsley Place please go to: https://www.westhorsleyplace.org/donate/donate/5/credit-card .
Visit Hever Castle on The Anne Boleyn Tour, May 2025
Come with myself and historian Gareth Russell and stay at Hever Castle in May 2025 on 'The Anne Boleyn Tour'. You will stay at the castle for 4-nights, enjoy expert guided visits to Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London as well as an after-hours tour of Hever castle and dinner in its Great Hall! Also along the way you will meet Dr Tracy Borman OBE and Kate McCaffrey! To Book, go to www.britishhistorytours.com for full details and to download a booking form.
Hever Castle as Anne Boleyn would have known it, PLUS a rediscovered home of Henry VIII!