Regency Britain — Hever Castle

As a writer of historical novels, I am always looking for buildings in which to set my scenes. I need either buildings of the era, or buildings that existed at the time.

Hever castle is likely one of the most famous in Britain, having been home to two of Britain’s Queens. Ann Boleyn and Ann of Cleves. One can certainly imagine people of the time being as fascinated with those two ladies during the Regency era as we are today. Indeed, we know that people even then were in the habit of visiting the houses of well-known people. We have a wonderful example of this in Pride and Prejudice, along with a lovely wet-shirted hero, if one sees the British production. The photos were taken by me.

It was built as a defensive castle in the 13th Century,

by William de Hever, Sheriff under Edward I. Even though after going into disrepair for several decades, the defensive nature of it is easily seen.

One can imagine it firing the imagination of little Regency girls and boys playing knights and maidens in distress, or maiden going out to battle the invading armies.

And yes, that is a moat all around the outside. One passes over a bridge to get into the house.

It was in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that Hever Castle was owned by the Bullens, relatives of Ann Boleyn. By this time, the defensive nature was a thing of the past. It was a Tudor home.

These photo’s clearly illustrate that, but although it was Tudor in style during the Regency it was owned by Jane Waldo, the daughter of a knight of the realm, Sir Timothy Waldo, so it could easily be a back drop for a Regency story.