Hever Castle

Hever Castle’s history stretches back more than 700 years, but is perhaps best known as the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, and scene of her courtship by Henry VIII, before she became his ill-fated second wife.
Yet appearances can be deceptive, and much of what you see in the gardens today, is actually the work of a wealthy American, William Astor, who lavished his fortune on them in more recent times. It is difficult to know what royal visitors to Hever would have seen in the 16th century, but it wouldn’t have been the gardens there today.
Hever Castle is formidable, built from sombre grey stone, with a moat, towers and drawbridge. But the common image of Anne Boleyn and Henry as lovers, walking around the rose garden is a misleading one – all that would have existed then was marshland.

A display of wealth
From 1557, the castle was passed from family to family, gradually falling into decline. Its fortunes were revived at the start of the 20th century when the property was bought by the flamboyant American William Astor, then the world’s richest man. Fortunately for the future of Hever, he chose to spend a considerable chunk of his fortune on the gardens.
He invested heavily in creating the magnificent landscape we see today. During its construction it was rumoured that he slept with a revolver under his pillow to protect the gardens from any trespassers looking to steal his ideas! The formal grounds were laid out in 1904-1908, with 800 men allocated to dig out the 38-acre lake laboriously by hand, taking two years to do so.

Classical influence
A strong influence on the gardens’ style was Astor’s love of classical Europe, which dated from his time as the American Ambassador to Italy in 1882-1885. Over a period of many years, he collected artefacts from around Italy, many over 2,000 years old, bringing them eventually to Hever Castle.
The Italian Garden was specially designed to display his collection of Italian sculpture. The main section of this is a walkway based on the ruins of Pompeii – it is designed to look many centuries older than it actually is. This area is divided into bays of individual ruins, with much of the stonework brought in from Tunbridge Wells.

Contrast in styles
In William Astor’s time, a miniature railway system was installed in the garden to transport all these oversized building materials into place.
More than 7,000 bedding plants fill the Italian Garden every year, and the layouts are changed annually.
There is a startling contrast between the Mediterranean and English styles throughout the gardens – nicely demonstrated by one wall covered in country-cottage style sweet peas alongside the fiery Abutilon megapotamicum.
The Italian Garden has elements of the exotic. There are olives growing up the south-facing wall, joined by figs, papaya, passion flower and kiwi fruit. These cluster around the gold-painted grates in the walls, giving glimpses of the landscape beyond.
The bedding schemes are changed continually and plans are already being made for next year – pansy ‘Friolina’ was the success story of 2008 and so will be used again.

The Rose Garden
Hever Castle is renowned for its walled Rose Garden, which contains nearly 4,000 roses, including ‘Anne Boleyn’ and ‘Royal William’, with its lush red blooms. ‘Buxum Beauty’ is a particular favourite, with its large, sweet-smelling blooms in vivid pink. Hever Castle even holds an annual rose festival every summer to celebrate these plants.
The Rose Garden is classical in style, with red brick walls, gravel paths, rows of roses, arches, and ornate statues standing proudly above the blooms.

The Blue Garden
The Blue Garden is a recent development, with blue-leaved hostas, lavender, ceanothus, euphorbia and hardy geraniums. This area was designed to include plants in the shapes of fireworks – Catherine wheels, rockets, star bursts, fountains and sparklers are all evident in the border. The foliage is successfully contrasting, giving real definition in shapes.
Behind this area is the 110m (360ft) long herbaceous border, which has recently been reinstated. It follows the Gertrude Jekyll scheme of using cooler colours at the edges of the border, heating up into warm fiery colours in the centre.
This area rambles delightfully, in stark contrast to the more formal areas of the garden. Rabbits are one of the biggest pests here, so there is now a small wire fence to protect the plants. The Alchemilla mollis that was planted around the edge of the border also seems to act as a deterrent. The long border includes the cooler colours of Verbena bonariensis and echinops on the outskirts, leading into the centre where there are red gladioli, canna, rudbeckia and orange day lilies.

Two Sisters pond
Next to this border is the Two Sisters pond, surrounded by a cave built into the rocks. In William Astor’s time, a man was hired to play the role of a hermit, living in the cave (although he would sneak out to sleep indoors at night), to jump out and regale the strolling ladies with stories. However, as legend goes, this man spent most of the time secretly getting drunk in the pub over the road. He would return extremely inebriated and scare the ladies with his lewd comments – not surprisingly he was sacked

Tranquil walk
These days there is a more tranquil walk for visitors that takes a turn around the arboretum and Anne Boleyn’s lake. Hever Castle is only 50 minutes away from Heathrow Airport, but you wouldn’t know it – the gardens are a haven of tranquillity. Ducks, grebes and swans all swim on the lake, past the boathouse, restored two years ago.
There are now 10 gardeners working on the grounds, which include over 65 acres of formal gardens.
The gardens at Hever Castle are like a strange illusion – seemingly so old and yet not, mixing formal and relaxed styles, the English and the exotic – it all helps to make them so fascinating. Pay a visit and prepare to be intrigued.

Visitor information
Hever Castle, Hever, Nr Edenbridge, Kent. TN8 7NG
Tel. 01732 865224
mail@hevercastle.co.uk
www.hevercastle.co.uk
www.visitheartofkent.com
Open From March 1-Easter 2009 Wednesday-Sunday.April1 -October 31 daily. November 1-30 Thursday-Sunday, December 3-20 Thursday-Sunday
Admission Adults £12, senior citizens £10, children £6.50.Family ticket £30.50