A Night at the Thornbury (Castle)

One night in the bedchamber of a notorious dead king and his ill fated queen... sounds like it's just right up our alley.

In 1535, King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn spent 10 days at Thornbury. King Henry VIII gained possession of Thornbury 14 years previously when he had the previous owner, Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, beheaded for treason. Sounds like a lovely beginning for a manor home eh?

Besides that incident, Thornbury actually had a relatively peaceful history. Building began in 1511 as a stately manor home. It was not built originally as a castle and is not a true castle by English standards, meaning it was not designed to serve as a fortress. After King Henry VIII's death, Thornbury remained in royal possession until the death of his daughter Princess Mary (later Queen Mary I, who also spent time at Thornbury), when it was returned to the descendants of Edward Stafford.

The castle was unoccupied for 2 centuries and fell into disrepair until the 1850s when it was turned into a family home.

The Duke's Bedchamber, where King Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn stayed for 10 days.

This was a very comfortable room however we did not realize that 90% of historic hotels in England don't have air conditioning, making the room very warm during the summer.

Mom stayed in the suite directly above, the deBohun Room. When booking rooms I requested the least haunted room close to the Duke's Bedchamber. 😆 Hotel reception suggested this room. The deBohun Room is named for Edward Stafford's (Thornbury's original owner & the duke that King Henry VIII beheaded for treason) wife, Anne.

After settling into our rooms, we explored the castle.

This is where we breakfasted.

Always remember to stop and smell the flowers. 🤣

A pathway from the castle leads to St. Mary C of E Church next door. Mom was a little creeped out by the graveyard. Guess who didn't get any sleep that night? 😂 My poor, slightly superstitious mother. She didn't know what she was getting into when she joined us on our adventure!