Hever

"HEVER, a parish in the hundred of Somerden, lathe of Sutton-at-Hone, county Kent, 3 miles S.E. of Edenbridge, its railway station and post town, and 9 S.W. of Sevenoaks. It is situated on the river Eden, and formerly belonged to William-de-Hever, who built the castle in the reign of Edward III.; it afterwards passed to the Cobhams, and was purchased by Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, a wealthy mercer of London, and at one time lord mayor of that city, and grandfather of the unfortunate Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII. The castle was the birth-place of Anne; and it was here that the king passed some of his happiest days. The estate subsequently became a possession of the crown, and was granted, after her divorce, to Anne of Cleves, who made the castle almost constantly her home, and died here in 1557. The castle, although built in the 14th century, is still in a very excellent state of preservation, and is surrounded by a moat. The inner buildings form a quadrangle, comprising the recess used by Henry VIII. for a council-room, Anne Boleyn's room, and an extensive staircase leading to the various apartments of the castle. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £600. The living is a rect, in the diocese of Canterbury, value £372. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, has a spired tower, containing five bells. In the interior of the church is a tomb to Sir Thomas Boleyn; also brasses, bearing date from 1399, and tombs of the Cobham and Waldo families. The parochial charities produce about £9 per annum. There is a free school."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]