Henry VIII's Newly Rebuilt Love Nest now Available

A property where Henry VIII stayed with his second wife Anne Boleyn has recently gone on the market after was rescued from a state of near collapse.The red brick Tudor gatehouse on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent is all that remains of Shurland Hall, the Tudor palace owned by a courtier of the King, Thomas Cheyney. Built between 1510 and 1518, it stands on the site of a previous 13th century castle.

The Hall had been described as a "stately residence" and "a manor comparable to that of any gentleman in Kent." It had a private chapel, stables, mews, kennels, offices, gardens and a well house amongst other things. Shurland Hall had been neglected for many years and was in a ruinous state although it now has been finally refurbished by the Spitalfields Trust and put up for sale for £2m.

PHOTO CREDIT: www.shurlandhall.com,

"It is an amazing, unique site which has been occupied since pre-Roman times," said company spokesman Oliver Leigh-Wood. The gatehouse had been unoccupied since World War II and was covered in scaffolding when representatives from the Trust first saw it. The building had no walls or floors, but has been rebuilt into a five-bedroom house with the help of a £300,000 grant from English Heritage.

PHOTO CREDIT: www.sheppeywebsite.co.uk.

In the grounds are the fragments of the great hall of the palace, where Henry and Anne were entertained. According to the local history, Henry VIII and his new wife Anne Boleyn visited Shurland Hall in 1532, while traveling to France to meet Francis I. Leaving London shortly after an outbreak of the plague began, they stayed for two days while Sir William Cheyne was using the hall as his family home. For more information, visit the Sheppy website, and see a short video on the BBC website where Oliver Leigh-Wood describes the gatehouse before it was refurbished HERE.