Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1906-01-28
.FEUDAL DOMAIN
IS AST0R'S PLAN
CASTLE HEvER, ONCE HOME
OF ANNE B0LEYN
House Said to Be Haunted--Room
Used by Henry VIII Now Set
Aside for Use Of VIII.
lam Waldorf
Special Gable To The Herald.

Special Gable to The Herald.
LONDON, Jan. Elm the garden o
England, by which designation tn
county of Kent is known, William wal
dorf Astor has purchased one of thos
picturesque and beautiful mediaeva
castles that abound with historical IN
terest and around which so many ole
traditions have been woven.
Castle Hever one OF these old houses
has been practically transformed b,
Mrs. Astor. The general schemes o.
this new Astor estate, for Mr.. Astol
has another estate at Cllveden, com
prises the following.
Restoration of the castle to its an
cient battlemented glories.
Building in ancient style series OF
castle villages.
A model farm
An italian garden.
a lake of forty-f1ve acres.
An arteslan well and capacluus reser.
voir. Widening and changing of the
course of the, River Eden. New public
road thrse-duartrs OF mile long. A
strong bridge over the river, with wide
spans. broad roadway and steel frame
A large power house for electric light
etc.
An extensive deer park.
Inc castle Itself Is of great historic
interest, owing to the fact that 1t was
at one time the home of the ill-fated
Anne Boleyn, one Of the wives of Henry
VIII, and tradition says the unouiet
spirit of the dead queen consort crosses
the bridge over the river during Christ
mas week. With the destruction Of the
old bridge over the river the ghost of
the Lady Anne has been effectually
a fo nt ~ ~,
credulous villagers. Be this, however,
as 1t may, certain II Is that watchers
at Hever this year saw no specter to
reward them for their lonely vigil.
some notion of the extent of this gil
ganutic task may be gathered from the
fact that nearly 100000 tons of ma
terial have passed over the roads lead
Ing to and from the estate, while the
number of workmen employed has
varied between 1900 and 5000 and TO
house all this army of 1aborers tenn
porary huts were erected in the
grounds
All the newer Stonework has been
removed from the castle. and a quarry
has been reopened on the castle
grounds. The old oak paneling has
been cleaned, the second and outer
rnoat is to be reopened, while a draw
bridge in quite the olden style will give
duIilittdilce 10 tne principal entrance.
One room called after Henry VIII,
in which that bluff British king is de-
olared to have slept, will be set apart
Tor Mr.. Aston and the historic long
gallery will be the resting place of
the masterpieces of many famous art
lists Anne Boleyn's room is to be un-
tenanted.
All the old barns, outhouses and
other structures have been demolished,
and in their stead there are now a
series OF old-fashioned and semi Tudor
cottages.
The grounds also will be embellished
IN the old-fashloned style, and the an
tiquaries of Kent are not altogether
dissatisfied that this historic old castle
mas passed into the hands of an
American millionaire. They regret, of
course, that it is likely to be closed
to them at least for many years to
come. but they are assured that Mr.
Astor Will regard its battle scared walls
and its far flung traditions with ven
Grafton.