Henry VIII's love nest for sale
21st November 2009
A house where newlywed Henry VIII stayed with his second wife Anne Boleyn has gone on the market after being rebuilt from a state of near collapse. Shurland Hall, on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, is thought to be the gatehouse of a Tudor palace owned by a courtier of the King, Thomas Cheyney.
It was probably built especially for Henry and Anne's visit in 1532, when the King spent three days hunting.
The Spitalfields Trust has restored it and put it up for sale for £2m.
"It is an amazing, unique site which has been occupied since pre-Roman times," said spokesman Oliver Leigh-Wood.
Great hall
The gatehouse had been unoccupied since World War II and was covered in scaffolding when representatives from the Trust first saw it.
It had no walls and no floors, but has been rebuilt into a six-bedroom house with the help of a £300,000 grant from English Heritage.
In the grounds are the fragments of the great hall of the palace, where Henry and Anne were entertained.
"Sir Thomas himself had a staff of at least 100 males - women were not unrecorded," said Mr Leigh-Wood.
"Henry would have had a huge retinue, so this palace would have had in excess of 300 or 400 people here at the time of the King's visit. "
The marriage, in 1530, famously ended badly, however, with the king having Anne Boleyn tried and executed in 1533 for adultery.
The family home of the Boleyns was at Hever Castle in Kent.
Oliver Leigh-Wood describes the gatehouse before it was refurbished
Source: BBC News