Hever Castle, Kent. Part II: Some interesting facts about Hever Castle

• The Gatehouse, containing the Chamber room, is the oldest part of Hever Castle and it dates from the 13th century. It used to be the place where the Lord and Lady of Manor were spending most of their time that included having a meal, sleeping and entertaining. Nowadays this chilling and damp, even during the warm months, room houses the collection of ancient armour as well as the items of torture and punishment, like the scolds’ bridles, for example. The scold’s bridles were somewhat of a muzzle or mask with a plate in it, which made speaking impossible. Sometimes it was also equipped with iron spikes causing pain.

Hever Castle's Gatehouse dates from the 13th century

This device was the sort of “mild punishment” for those women of the past austere centuries, who supposed to show the lack of self-restrain in their speech and brought inconvenience to the general public, and also for those alleged to be witches, preventing them of spelling curses.

• On the place of the porcelain cupboard in the Morning Room was a sort of cubbyhole where during the Catholic Waldgraves (the owners of Hever Castle at the time of Elizabeth I) the priest secretly celebrated mass.

• In the Book of Hours room there is the prayer book of Anne Boleyn on the display that called “Remember me”. It is unbelievably colourful even after about 500 years ago and believed to be taken by Anne to the Tower before her decapitation.

16-century bed in King Henry VIII's Bedchamber

• The ceiling in the King Henry VIII’s Bedchamber has the most venerable age in the whole castle (it dates from 1462) and so the most of the panelling (from 1565).

• In 1968 Hever Castle heavily suffered from the flood, caused by a violent storm. The level of water in the nearby River Eden rose to about 1,5 m and gushed into the castle. The flood mark is still can be seen on the ground floor. It took about 4 years to repair the consequences of the devastation.

• It took 2 years and 800 workmen to dig out the 38-acre lake in Hever Castle’s Park.

• From 1540 for 17 years Hever Castle was in the possession of Henry VIII’s fourth wife Anne of Cleves, “The Flander Mare” as the fussy king reportedly called her. The castle was one of generous settlements Henry bestowed on her as a result of their marriage annulment. Notwithstanding Henry VIII disliked Anne of Cleves at first, afterwards they turned to be in friendly relations, and Anne was a frequent guest at the court.

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