WRESSLE CASTLE, YORKSHIRE.
Wressle Castle, Yorkshire.—The Castle of Wressle lies to the south-east of York, near the junction of the Derwent with the Ouse, the navigation of which it was probably designed to protect. Sir Thomas Percy, the brother of the first Earl of Northumberland, is reputed to have been the founder. It fell to the Crown, and Henry IV. granted it to his son John, Earl of Bedford, and after his demise to Sir Thomas Percy, son of Henry, the second Earl of Northumberland. The Percies seem to have maintained their Court in the Castle with a magnificence befitting their illustrious race, and during their occupation the Castle saw the most glorious portion of its history.
In 1642 and 1648 it was garrisoned by the Parliamentarians and shortly afterwards was ordered to be dismantled. Three sides of the quadrangle were thrown down, leaving only the south façade. It was in the possession of the Seymour family from 1682 to 1750, when it again passed into the hands of descendants of the Percy family, and now is owned by Lord Leconfield.
The building originally possessed five towers, one at each corner and another over the entrance on the south side, which still remains, together with the curtain wall and flanking towers. These present a very imposing appearance, but the general effect of the ruins suggests the castellated mansion of the Perpendicular period more than the grim sternness of a medieval castle. The square corner towers appear singularly inadequate for an effective flanking fire, and no doubt the building relied for defence chiefly upon the broad moat which encompassed it upon three sides and the deep dry ditch defending the approach.
Hever undoubtedly owes its fame partly to its magnificent gatehouse, which forms by far the most impressive part of the structure, and partly to the rich store of human interest imparted by its intimate connection with the ill-fated Anne Boleyn. It was built in the reign of Edward III. by Sir William de Hever, whose daughter brought it to her husband, Lord Cobham. In the time of Henry VI., Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, Lord Mayor of London, an opulent mercer, purchased it, and added greatly to the existing buildings, the work being subsequently finished by his grandson, Sir Thomas, the father of Anne.
HEVER CASTLE, KENT.
The latter was born in 1501, and brought up at Hever under a French governess. After she attracted the notice of the King, her father was created Viscount Rochford, and Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond, while Anne was made Marchioness of Pembroke. It was in the garden at Hever that Henry first saw her, and subsequently his wooing of that unfortunate queen occurred there. After the execution of Anne and her brother, the castle went to the Crown and was settled on Anne of Cleves. In 1557 Sir Edward Waldegrave purchased it, and it passed to Sir William Humfreys and subsequently to Sir T. Waldo, whose descendant is the present owner.
The Castle is surrounded by a double moat, fed by the river Eden; it is a small castellated house of the fifteenth century, the chief feature being the superb entrance, battlemented and machicoulied, and containing three portcullis grooves in the main passage. The buildings completing the rectangle are chiefly of the Elizabethan period, but have been very extensively restored by the present owner.