Throughout history, kings and queens have visited the Isle of Sheppey, including King Henry VIII and his daughter Queen Elizabeth I.
Shurland Hall (also known as Shurland Castle), near Eastchurch, was built between 1510 and 1518 by one of King Henry's VIII's trusted inner circle of courtiers, Thomas Cheyne.
King Henry VIII was married to Anne Boleyn (shown below) from 25th January 1533 to 17th May 1536. Whilst he was still married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, in October 1532, Henry and Anne stayed for three days at Shurland Hall. They were on their way to Calais to meet the French king, King Francis I, travelling from Dover.
The couple were going to Calais, which was an English territory at the time, to gain the French king’s support for their marriage and their quest for the annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
Did they secretly marry at Dover Castle?
It seems they did receive his approval, and it’s said that they married in secret at Dover Castle upon their return - on 14th November 1532.
It was on 25th January 1533 that Henry and Anne officially married in London. They wed in the Private Chapel at Whitehall Palace and she became the second of his six wives.
Henry married to two women at the same time!
It wasn't until 23rd May 1533 that Archbishop Thomas Cranmer finally annulled Catherine's marriage to Henry VIII. The King had already married the pregnant Anne Boleyn in the January. Their daughter Elizabeth was born in September 1533.
We now view Shurland Hall as a Tudor gem but back then it was a fabulous new build!
