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Hever Castle

Hever Castle & Gardens reopen after a year-long restoration of the Boleyn Apartment, complete with replica 16th-century tapestries reproduced by Zardi & Zardi. The childhood home of Anne Boleyn unveiled the newly restored apartment on the first floor of the castle in 2024. Modern historic tapestry experts, Zardi & Zardi, were called upon to work alongside a dedicated textile advisor to reproduce antique wall hangings befitting of the Tudor period.

A specialist in this field, having already consulted on the set of the BBC drama Wolf Hall, the Zardi & Zardi team were well equipped to select accurate reproductions of centuries-old originals from the portfolios of the V&A and Royal Palaces Collections. These include The Devonshire Hunting Series, being of the correct historical period (1510 – 1520) and in keeping with the style and colour palette of the interior. Originally woven in four large panels depicting hunting scenes with deer, falconry, boars, bears, swans and otters they are unique in their scale, quality and array of animal imagery. Developments in technology mean that copies can be reproduced with the patina and subtleties of colour that result from hundreds of years of ageing. They are an exciting addition to The Great Chamber and bed chambers of the apartment.

The Boleyn Apartment is the only surviving suite of rooms in the world that we can be sure Anne and her family occupied. The design interpretation remains as close to the original as possible (and even includes traditional smells) to create an authentic and immersive Tudor atmosphere and provide a unique visitor experience. Tapestries were an important symbol of wealth whilst also providing warmth and visual stimulation, and therefore a key element of this project.

The curatorial team at Hever Castle closely consulted with Zardi & Zardi director, PJ Keeling, alongside other eminent Tudor experts and historian Dr David Starkey. ‘As ever, it is a great privilege to be involved in a historical restoration project such as this. Each time we are commissioned to reproduce textiles, it’s a new and exciting opportunity to dive into history,’ says Keeling. ‘As textile specialists, we are able to produce museum-grade reproductions of antique tapestries which allows us to play a part in some of the most significant restoration projects in the country.’