I've visited Hever Castle, the ancestral home of the Boleyn family, several times, but I've never had the
time to visit the family church, St Peter's. It's here the Boleyn family would have worshipped, including of course, Anne Boleyn, future Queen of England and mother of Elizabeth 1st. Finally managed to make time to visit it this summer. What a beautiful church it is, and walking through the entrance, it gave me a real feeling of walking in the footsteps of the young Anne Boleyn. Inside is the tomb of Anne's father, Sir Thomas Boleyn. Sir Thomas, who has, in my opinion, often been unfairly portrayed in books and certain television series, one in particular, survived the fall of his brilliant children, Anne and George. I don't subscribe to the view that he engineered the rise of both his daughters, putting Mary in Henry VIII's bed and Anne on the throne. He undoubtedly was ambitious - as were many Tudor courtiers, but he could not have known that Henry would become so infatuated with Anne he would break with Rome, destroy his first wife, and marry her. As for Mary, Thomas did not need to rely on Mary to elevate his status. He was a brilliant linguist and superb ambassador to Henry VIII. He had secured places at various courts for all his children, and Henry was known to discard his mistresses without sentiment or rewards. Mary hardly made a fine match. As for Anne, I firmly believe she was in charge of her own destiny. What I do find hard is Thomas, despite the loss of his children and being stripped of his title Earl of Wiltshire, continued to serve Henry as best he could, even attending the christening of Henry's son Edward. He must have been a broken man, although he had his daughter Mary, whom he considered a disgrace after her second marriage, and grandchildren. Surely best to just stay on his estate at Hever and avoid court, and attempt some sort of reconciliation with Mary. We'll never know how he felt, or see into the mind of a Tudor statesman. What is telling is that when his wife, Elizabeth Boleyn, died, she chose to be buried at Lambeth, with her Howard family. So Sir Thomas has no family resting with him at St Peter's (although there is some evidence the Boleyns had more children who did not survive infancy and may be buried in the church). Anne and George of course had no choice - they are buried within the walls of St Peter ad Vincula, the chapel in the Tower of London. The resting place of Mary Boleyn is unknown.
The inscription and brass of the tomb of Sir Thomas Boleyn.
The entrance to St Peter's Church.
The sign outside the church, announcing the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth 1st rests within.
