Anne Boleyn's Ghost

ANNE BOLEYN’S GHOST

Anne Boleyn’s Ghost by Liam Archer

Copyright © 2013 Liam Archer

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, unless permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN
978-1494736484

Oashi Publishing

Photography by Liam Archer

First Edition

Contents

Introduction

The Visit to Hever Castle

In the Darkroom

The Photographs

The Difference between the Camera and the Eye

Anne’s Story

How it Began

The Break from Rome

The Coronation

Elizabeth Arrives

The King’s Will

Untimely Mishap

Devising a Plan

Losing her Freedom

The Accused are Heard

Final Days

Sightings of Anne’s Ghost

Introduction

It was midsummer 2009, when I went with family and friends to visit Hever Castle on the five hundredth anniversary of King Henry the Eighth’s Accession to the Throne. In the past, I visited Hever Castle on several occasions, and I have many cherished memories of the castle. Hever Castle was by no means the only castle I visited with family on more than one occasion. By the time I was ten years old I had been to so many castles, I couldn’t possibly count them all
–
such as Tintagel Castle in Cornwall; Cardiff Castle in Wales; Windsor Castle; and the infamous Tower of London, to name a few.

Shortly after my thirteenth birthday, I discovered photography. Winter was coming to a close and the days were growing increasingly warmer. One sunny day I came across a disposable camera lying vacantly on top of a cabinet at home. I picked it up, looked at the dial on top, and noticed it had a full roll of film. So without further ado, I took the camera downstairs, went into the front garden, and looked for something to photograph.

I spotted a small group of newly emerged daffodils, all bunched together and thriving in the warmth, while surrounding tall trees broke up and softened the sun’s heavenly rays. I took a few steps towards them, peered through the viewfinder, and started to take pictures. As I clicked happily away, I found myself searching for dramatic angles: my chin grazed the grass; the camera twisted and turned one way, then the other; all until my little box became silent. And with the glorious day ahead of me, I took the camera back inside, where I immediately forgot about it, and spent the rest of the day doing more important things, like skateboarding.

Nevertheless, that tiny fragment of my day would prove to be much more significant in my life than I first gave it credit for, and was a subtle sign of a gift and love I would come to appreciate in the years that soon followed.

Halfway through high school, I took my first ever photography course. It combined the practical side of shooting and camera operation, with film development and printing. I passed the course with an outstanding grade, and thoroughly impressed my teacher, as well as many of my classmates, with my photographs.

Later that year I was given my first SLR camera for my sixteenth birthday.
It opened up a whole new world as I began to discover life through the lens. There seemed to be a kind of magic about photography, ingrained within its wizardry. A part of its magic seemed to be in the sheer mystery of the
unknown
–
with this ‘unknown’ having two parts: firstly, the long period of time between taking a photograph and seeing the final result (as is the case with a traditional film camera); secondly, the difference between observing what you intend to capture and how that will transpose on to film (the final result).

It wasn’t long until digital cameras became popular and I bought a compact digital camera as I followed the trend. It became seldom that I used my SLR after that;
the convenience and practicality of digital technology was a big advantage, and one that was not easy to overlook, even if my older SLR was inherently a better camera. I also enjoyed seeing my photographs immediately after they were taken
–
something that took away some of the mystery from the process, but in turn had made photography less expensive and more accessible
–
and I liked being able to take a camera with me virtually everywhere I went. Ultimately, my SLR began to gather some dust.

Despite my likeness of digital technology, I didn’t go ahead and buy a digital
SLR
camera. This was mainly because I already owned a perfectly good SLR, and had had great results from it for years. I enjoyed doing photography as a hobby, and compact digital cameras were perfect for someone like me: an enthusiast and someone that never liked to miss a shot.

The Visit to Hever Castle

Shortly before our family trip to Hever Castle, I accompanied my mother on one, bright, Saturday afternoon as we went to the local Garden Centre. Having made a habit of bringing a camera with me on pretty much every outing, I had brought along my fairly new digital camera for the short trip.

When we returned home later that day, I pressed my coat pocket, expecting to feel the chunky, candy-bar shaped camera inside; but it wasn’t there. Somehow it had managed to slide out of my pocket at some point during the day, and it wasn’t about to grow a small pair of legs and find its way back to its rightful owner. It was lost.

Our visit to Hever Castle was less than two weeks away and the only camera I could bring now was my older, heavier, SLR camera. The large size of the camera, and the general inconvenience of having to buy film, made the camera more bothersome to bring on long outings than a compact. And it had been more than two years since I had used my SLR for anything more than taking a few photos in town. However, left with no other choice (short of going without a camera at all) I went in search for the right batteries as the day to visit the castle neared.

I tried not to be too disappointed about losing my nifty compact. Actually, I felt rather excited that I would
have
to bring my bulkier SLR along, which had rarely seen the light of day for years, and had seemed all but destined to antiquity.

I didn’t think much about it at the time; I was just glad I was going to be able to take some photos when I got there.

Hever Castle
 

The History of Hever Castle

Hever Castle was built shortly after the Norman Conquest when the land on which the castle was eventually built was given to a Norman noble, called Walter de Hevere. The oldest part of Hever Castle dates back to the late thirteenth century when Walter’s grandson, William, converted the original farmhouse into a manor and castle, consisting of a huge gatehouse, a wooden drawbridge, and a motte and walled bailey. In 1459 the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Geoffrey Bullen (later changed to ‘Boleyn’) became the proud owner of the castle. Three years later, the
castle underwent a period of renovation that transformed the imposing defensive structure into a mysterious home suitable for raising a family. The castle was then inherited by Geoffrey’s son William, who, in 1505, passed ownership on to his son, Thomas, shortly before he died. When Thomas Boleyn married Elizabeth Howard, Hever Castle became the mysterious home for him, his wife and three newborn children:
Anne, Mary
and
George
.

A few years later, Thomas Boleyn extended the castle by adding the
Long Gallery
. In 1538 Thomas died and his brother gained ownership of the castle; though it was soon seized the following year by King Henry the Eighth. In 1540 Henry gave the castle to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, as a part of their divorce settlement. From 1557 onwards, the castle was owned by three families: the Waldegraves, the Meade Waldos, and the Astors. In 1903 William Waldorf Astor purchased and invested in Hever Castle by extending the grounds with a mock Tudor village, gardens, and a lake, as well as numerous Italian sculptures of his that gave the grounds a distinctive theme and a romantic
twist
. Today the castle is open to the public, having long since out-lived its day as a home for nobility, royalty and commoners alike for nearly eight hundred years
.

*

On July 25th 2009, my mother, brother, his partner and I arrived in Kent by train. It was shortly after two o’clock when we stepped off on to the narrow and empty platform. As soon as a taxi pulled up we got inside and went along Kent’s narrow and winding roads, accompanied by our chatty driver, towards Hever Castle. Peering out the window, light grey clouds filled the sky, and it looked bound to rain at any moment; but, oddly enough, on arriving at our destination, and the foliage overhead gradually subsiding, the sun shone warmly through.

We bought our tickets and with every step the castle’s majestic walls slowly began to emerge in the valley. The first thing I had
to do was buy some film for my camera, so off we went to Hever’s
Gift Shop
.