Hever Castle ~ Hever Gardens ~ England

Hever Castle has a history of over 700 years but this will not be a history lesson.  I shall toss in a few tidbits of information about some of the residents’ history but more about the building of the castle and grounds to be what it is today.

Hever Castle

The entrance shows some of the great expanse of the 125 acres of the Hever Castle.  The list of sights to visit given on the program suggest about 8 hours to see everything on the grounds including the castle  This was more time than we spent so although we did not see everything, we did see much of it.

We were there!

The Hever Castle has a double moat and we are standing on the outside of the second one.  Hever Castle was little more than a farmstead when it was purchased by William Waldorf Astor 1903.  His passion for art and sculpture is prominently seen in the gardens today. We had a great time wandering the grounds with my sister and her husband who are quite familiar with the area.

Historical room

The was the first room we saw after receiving a greeting as we entered the Hever Castle.  I had not understood the heavy accent that apparently told us there were to be no photos taken.  I was quickly re-told but at least I had taken one before knowing what that accent had said.  lol

KSY Military Museum

This museum was a wealth of information with stories and artifacts from 1794 to today.  The Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry bring it to life with combat noises and voices overhead.  They are so realistic I almost hit the ground with a quick thought of "find me a foxhole!"

Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday

This garden monument was designed for Queen Elizbath II's 90th birthday in 2016.  Her actual birthday is April 21 but the official one was held June 11, 2016.  The tradition of holding royal birthdays in June began many years ago and was done due to the weather being unreliable during some other months.

Gardens galore

Over 1,000 men worked on the gardens between 1904-1908.  The former gardens had all but disappeared.  There was a temporary railway used to help with the features.  In those four years, classical gardens and natural landscape filled the 125 acres of what was once marshland and meadows.  

Hever Loggia

This is the Loggia, a beautiful setting where weddings and other celebrations can be held.  The original structure of the castle was preserved and any updates that had been done to it were replaced with materials used similarly to the sixteenth century and using tools from that time, as well.  This project employed 748 craftsmen.

Sights and sounds of Hever Gardens

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII and mother to Queen Elizabeth I, spend her childhood years here and so there is a lot of history in this castle.  The interior was amazing to see as it shared the history; it had photos of the royalty of the time as well as a journal of Anne Boleyn’s.  As tempting as it was to take a picture of Henry VIII's room, I did not take any more interior photos.

Hever Lake

An additional 800 men were employed to build the Hever Lake, also a major undertaking which took over two years.  There is a lakeside walkway all around the lake to enjoy the view, the resident swans as well as many other birds and residents of the lake. This is adjacent to the loggia which overlooks the 38 acre lake.

Our visit was done in the Fall but the gardens were still very enjoyable, Springtime would be amazing when the 35,000 annual plantings are done in this worldly recognized garden.