Sudeley Castle

 Monday, May 31, 2010

According to Wikipedia:

Sudeley Castle is located in the Cotswolds, near to the medieval market town of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire. The castle has 10 notable gardens covering some 15 acres within a 1,200-acre estate nestled within the Cotswold hills.

King Henry VIII and his then-wife Anne Boleyn visited the castle in 1535, and it later became the home and final resting place of his sixth wife, Katherine Parr, who is buried in the castle’s church, making Sudeley the only privately owned castle in England to have a Queen of England buried in its grounds

Although the castle did itself did not impress us very much, touring the 10 beautifully tended gardens lifted our spirits.

 Here are more historical details, according to Wikipedia:

During his reign, King Henry VIII only stayed at Sudeley once, on his 1535 Royal Progress with Queen Anne Boleyn. In the months leading up to Henry’s visit to Sudeley, he started to enact the Dissolution of the Monasteries, executing Bishop John Fisher and Sir Thomas More. Moreover, it was while he was at Sudeley that Pope Paul III and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I started discussing his excommunication and removal.

The death of Henry and the accession of King Edward VI led way for the rise of the Edward and Thomas Seymour. Henry’s will had an “unfulfilled gifts” clause that allowed for his executors to gift themselves new lands and titles, which led to Edward being declared Lord Protector of the Realm, and making his brother Baron Seymour of Sudeley.

A few months after this, Thomas secretly married Henry’s widow and final wife, Queen Catherine Parr without the permission of the king, causing a small scandal.

In 1548, Catherine, now pregnant, moved with her husband to Sudeley Castle, taking a considerable retinue: 120 Yeomen of the Guard and Gentlemen of the Household, plus her ladies-in-waiting and Thomas’ ward, the Lady Jane Grey.[3]

The castle was specially prepared for this move, and descriptions still exist of what Catherine’s bedchamber looked like.Catherine died at Sudeley on 5th September 1548 from what was described as “childbed fever”, five days after the birth of her daughter Mary Seymour. Catherine was buried two days later at St. Mary’s Church, within the grounds of Sudeley, in what was the first Protestant funeral in English. Today, her tomb with its life-sized effigy lying under a canopy of ornately carved marble, is today considered a place of pilgrimage.

After Catherine’s death, her husband Thomas inherited Sudeley; he held it until he was executed for treason six months later. Catherine’s brother William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, then inherited the castle, he in turn held Sudeley until 1553, when he was also accused of treason, and Sudeley was seized by the crown.

St. Mary's Church, where Catherine Parr is buried:

Inside the castle, Alex was able to try out a few medieval outfits:

Here is a mannequin of King Henry VIII:

Here is a mannequin styled after Jane Seymour:

And here is a rendition of Anne Boleyn:

There were a few modern sculptures sprinkled about the castle.

At the end of the tour, Alex really enjoyed Sudeley Castle's playground for kids.

Here are some videos of Alex and Inna taking turns riding the swing:

We had a lovely time at Sudeley Castle, and Alex especially enjoyed the kid-friendly activities.