In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn
This book by Natalie Gueninger and Sarah Morris gives a
wonderful historical
account of the places where Anne Boleyn visited during her
life-time. Wonderful chateaux
in France, stately tudor mansions and beautiful lost palaces
and majestic castles which hark back
to an earlier time in history.
I found this book informative and would also be useful as a
guide if visiting some of the places
mentioned. There is
Hever Castle, childhood home of Anne Boleyn, where her father is buried
at the chapel of St Peter with the full regalia in brass of
the Order of the Garter.
There is also the history of the Tower of London, which at
one time was also a palace for royalty
and Anne Boleyn was accommodated here before her coronation.
Wonderful snippets of history are included in the book which
also portrays a time of romance and
elegance from another era.
Anne Boleyn was created Marquess of Pembroke at Windsor Castle and
Blenheim Palace is built across the valley from the Lost Palace of
Woodstock. There is a little village of
Woodstock in Oxfordshire.
It is interesting to note also that Anne Boleyn may have
been inspired by the interior decorations of the renaissance which she would
have become accustomed to during her time in France. These renaissance themes may also have
influenced her decisions when Henry and Anne were decorating Whitehall Palace and
other places.
It is also sad to think that so many old palaces and castles
from tudor times have been lost because of fire, civil unrest or from not being
maintained in a proper manner over the years.
However, there are still many emblems of tudor life to be seen and many
old medieval tudor themed villages in England with the timber framed houses to
view.
Many of the grounds
of the castles are described vividly with orchards, gardens, tiltyards, fish
ponds and it is easy to imagine the beautiful scenery of a bygone era when the
king, queen and court would go on their progress around the countryside visiting
many of the stately manors and castles.
This book is highly recommended and gives the reader a fascinating
insight into the layout of the castles, grounds and gardens and the way of life
lived in many of the rooms of the lost palaces and castles. It also gives wonderful insights into the
romance of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. e.g. The palace of
Havering-Att-Bower which was a palace given to Anne Boleyn on her marriage to
Henry VIII, which was set upon a hill overlooking the Thames
Valley with beautiful park land. This
was an old Saxon castle and popular with kings and was known as the Palace of the Queens from the days of
Queen Eleanor’s dower.
Abbeys are also
included in this book, though unfortunately many of these were lost with the dissolution
of the abbeys and monasteries during the reformation years. Notley Abbey was restored by Vivien Leigh and
Sir Lawrence Olivier in the 1940’s.
This book is certainly evocative of earlier times of
enchantment and romance with the lovely descriptions of scenery and locations
brimming with fascinating history. A
book which is lively and interesting and a wonderful companion to take on a
journey throughout some of the byways and paths travelled by Anne Boleyn and
Henry in England.
