I was very sad to be leaving Hever Castle. It is definitely one place I would highly recommend to everyone. Hopefully some day I will stay here again. It was a beautiful morning with the sun shining down on the castle. We had one last walk through the grounds and time for some great photos. We even saw two swans getting ready for the day. I now know why they have such long necks. I am going to try to attach the video. It’s a little over a minute but if it works it is quite cute.

From Hever we headed out Layer Marney Tower. It was a great castle that is still lived in today actually our hosts and tour guides. It was a lot of fun to have someone walk you through and tell you about their home. It was more castle than home from the outside but inside you really could tell a normal family lived there. It was on our tour because Lord Marney had been part of Henry’s court from the time he was young. Once Henry became the heir when his brother died Marney’s lot in life vastly improved. They explained him to be like a trusted uncle to Henry. Lord Marney built the house right as Henry became King and it was the height of the renaissance in London. Sadly soon after it was completed Henry had his falling out with Rome over his pesky divorce with Katherine and all things Italian fell out of favor. Poor lord Marney’s half finished castle was all in the wrong style. Even more sadly he died soon after followed just a few years later by his son. No one stepped in and finished the castle so it only has the front wing instead of the planned four with an inner courtyard. It also stood vacant for years so no one removed its renaissance style decorations to update the look to please the king and his new Italian hating queen.

The tour took us through the house to the lords bedchamber which is now a guest bedroom that would be used later this evening to hosts friends of her oldest daughters. The room had one of the first crown molded ceiling. Before all the ceiling separations were down in frame molding that was cut in small peices to make designs. We also saw the room that Henry VIII stayed in when he stopped by to see how the construction was going. That room is now a billiards room again with the super huge pool table. I had no idea there were different sizes of pill tables. I assumed it was universal just like a tennis or basketball court.

We also learned a lot about the running and everyday life of these large estates. Basically they struggle with the upkeep, couldn’t sale it if they tried, spend outrageous amounts to maintain to historic standards but love it all the same. The wife had great stories about getting their dining room chairs from a club in London that was redecorating and buying all the really large art pieces from new artist who haven’t yet realized they shouldn’t paint anything larger than a painting that can be hung over fireplace if they want to sell it. She was a lot of fun and we met her husband who was even more lively than she was.

We also toured the on ground chapels. Along with the other renaissance work in the house the chapel had some terra cotta tombs. It was the start of the use of molding in England. The tomb was so different from you generally see in England. I didn’t know terra-cotta could be other colors but it all depends on the color of clay. In England it is definitely a whiter clay. One of the terra-cotta tombs was for the dad and his sons was just the carved effigy. The chapel also had a fresco that is almost completely faded. It is of st. Christopher carrying Jesus. Christopher looks like a giant compared to the tiny midget Jesus on his shoulder. This sadly has fallen way to the conservation instead of restoration. She did if it was up to her and her husband they would have added back in the color but since it belongs to the church they have to wait and see if they come up with a way to save it.

To finish off our day at Layer Marney we had a ploughman’s lunch. Which basically means cheese and bread. luckily we also got cake. The Victorian sponge cake is much better than the bake well tart if you want my opinion.

From Layer Marney we headed out to Lavenham. This time we are staying I. The Swan Hotel which is right in the center of town. The town once very wealthy during the early 15 century pretty much went on decline from them. Like Marney the decline saves all the period architecture. No one had any money to update or build new so everything still has that quintessential Tudor or Shakespeare look. The hotel is a rambling concoction of buildings with winding hallways and stairways. It was built in early 1500s and still very much as that look. The rooms are much more modern and quite nice. It is no Hever Castle but lovely in its own way.

After unpacking we went on a short tour around town. The church is quite large for the size of the village. This has more to do with the wealth of the wool merchants that lived in this area. We also went through the town most of the houses built in the timber style. Often the timber bowed under the weight and the house becomes a crooked mess. They don’t look like they can continue to stand but they have been standing for 700 years so I doubt they are going to fall anytime soon.

We were on our own for dinner and Val and I decided not to make reservation. Probably not the best idea. The resteraumts are very small and a few were already all booked. We ended up at the larger pub. The food was good but it didn’t have much atmosphere. We did eat with another Texas couple who are a very nice. Turns out they live in Granbury which is about 30 miles from mom.

We made an early night of it and went up to bed. It was great start to second leg of the tour.