Hever Castle

Hever Castle, a small 13th-century moated castle that was at one time home to the Boleyn family. Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII’s second wife and Elizabeth I’s mother. At the turn of the last century vast amounts of money were poured into the castle’s restoration by William Waldorf Astor, an extremely wealthy American who forsook his native country and became a naturalized British citizen. Because the castle was far too small to provide accommodation for his family and friends, Mr Astor built an adjacent village of snug, Tudor-style cottages and joined it to the castle. While the village is not open to the public, the restored castle, its rooms full of antiques that span the last 800 years, and the parklike grounds are open to visitors.