Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn visit Acton Court
In 1535, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were undergoing a three-and-a-half month-long summer progress.
This took them through Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Hampshire.
About midway through the progress, the royal couple stopped in Gloucestershire.
Here, they visited with Sir Nicholas Poyntz at his home Acton Court.
The king and queen stayed from Saturday 21st to Monday 23rd August.
In anticipation of a visit from Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Sir Nicholas Poyntz tore down his kitchen block, and built a range of luxury royal apartments.
The new wing was a splendid testament to Nicholas Poyntz’s loyalty to his King.
He went to immense trouble and expense, decorating the state apartments lavishly and fashionably.
Nicholas Poyntz was well rewarded for his efforts, as it is thought that he was knighted during the royal visit.
Today, Henry’s first-floor suite remains largely untouched, and consists of three great chambers.
The presence chamber was lit by a huge oriel window, situated directly opposite where the king’s throne and canopy of estate would have been.
Beyond that, in the privy chamber was a dining chamber, used privately by the king for dining or entertaining, and beyond that his bedchamber.
This also contained a large window that overlooked the formal gardens.
Henry’s privy toilet, or garderobe, can still be seen in a small closet off the bedchamber.
Unfortunately, the original layout of the chambers on the ground floor has been lost, but is likely that these were Queen Anne Boleyn’s rooms – directly beneath the King’s lodgings.
