Hever Castle

On July 12th, Mr K and I decided as I was staying with him and it's always been on my list of things to see and do that we should pay a visit to Hever castle.

Brief history (because I couldn't help myself!)

I'm a huge Tudor fan and was so, so excited to visit the castle and the gardens. Hever Castle was built in the 13th century and is best known as the place where a young Anne Boleyn grew up until leaving for The Netherlands in 1513 to receive an education at the court of the Archduchess Margaret. Anne returned to Hever in 1522 when her Father requested her return to England to marry her cousin James Butler. The marriage plans were broken up by Cardinal Wolsey and Anne went to the court to serve the current queen; Catherine of Aragon. 

Hever came into The Kings' possession after Thomas Boleyn died and he later gifted the castle to Anne of Cleaves as part of their divorce in 1540. 

After the Tudors, Hever Castle passed through various owners, the first being the Waldegrave family in 1557 and the Meade Waldo family from 1749 to 1903. During this period of ownership, the castle fell into a poor state of repair, it was leased to private tenants and at one point even housed cattle!  In 1903, it was acquired and restored by the American millionaire William Waldorf Astor, who used it as a family home. He added the Italian Garden and in 1983 the Astor family sold the castle.

The Visit

Geek Swap! #dicraftswap

Last month over at Dainty and Ivory was Geek swap month. We were paired up and exchanged all the things that we get a bit geeky about! I get my geek on over Tudor history, stationery and books (to a name a few) my partner Sally described herself pretty much as being a bit geeky about sewing which I thought was quite a good thing to be geeky about!

I sent Sally (who blogs at Sally Bee Makes) a couple of fat quarters, one was a black lace type fabric and the other was a piece of oil cloth that I was sure Sally could make something with. I included some chocolates, a mini chalk board, some ribbon and some buttons that I thought were pretty funky.

I was sent a geeky gift from Jenny who blogs at Pretty Column (swaps aren't direct) I got a gorgeous notepad for my letter writing, beautiful, handmade Tudor rose bunting which is so unique I love it. I was also sent some stars for my card making and they are fab I love them. Jenny also put in a bookmark which I think is very Tudor like, so naturally I was really happy to receive that.

This month the theme is Books which I've just sent off. Next months is Disney which may be harder than we think! To sign up for swaps, head over to Dainty and Ivory and follow Hannah, you won't be disappointed.

Cupcake Mumma