Anne Boleyn?

Question

Does anyone know where Anne Boleyn was born?
I was curious because it says her brother George was Lord Of ROchford, and wondered if she was born or raised in Rochford or the surrounding areas..
Thanks!

Answer 1

Geoffrey Bullen was the first member of the Bullen family to make a name for himself in English society. He had been apprenticed as a mercer in his youth, then succeeded in establishing an excellent social position. In 1459, he became Lord Mayor of London, was knighted, made a fortune, and bought both Blickling Hall in Norfolk, and Hever Castle in Kent. He passed the castles on to his grandsons. His grandson Thomas was Anne Boleyn's father.

It is not known which one of the castles was Anne Boleyn's birthplace. Her parents lived at Blickling Hall until 1504, then moved to Hever Castle. She could have been born in either place, depending upon the year of her birth.

Anne Boleyn, Queen of King Henry VIII of England, daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, afterwards Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde, and of Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, afterwards Duke of Norfolk, was born, according to William Camden, in 1507, but her birth has been ascribed, though not conclusively, to an earlier date (to 1502 or 1501) by some later writers.

Answer 2

Strangely, Anne Boleyn's beginnings are not exactly known:
Antonia Fraser puts Anne's birth at 1500 or 1501, probably at Blickling (Norfolk) and the date of birth seems to be at the end of May or early June. Other historians put Anne's birth as late as 1507 or 1509.
http://tudorhistory.org/boleyn/

There are several places where she lived, or are associated with her: Blickling in Norfolk or Hever Castle in Kent, a favourite home. Historians dispute over whether she was born either at Blickling or Hever. She may have spent some time in the Netherlands, and would have been about 12 years old at the time.

Her time in the Netherlands was followed by some years in France where she was a favoured lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France and also a translator whenever any English visitors arrived to meet the Queen. In the Queen's household, she completed her study of French and acquired a thorough knowledge of French culture and etiquette. She also developed an interest in fashion and the religious philosophy that called for reform of the Church. Her European education ended in the winter of 1521 when she was summoned back to England on her father's orders. She sailed from Calais in January 1522.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Boleyn

It is known that, although she was not strictly beautiful, she had dark hair and eyes, was petite, and had that certain attractiveness and charisma - she was bewitching. She also brought back from France a sense of fashion, etc, and became a fashion icon!

Notes on her birth year:
http://www.nellgavin.com/boleyn_links/boleynbirthyear.htm

Here is some information on her sister, Mary, which might throw additional light on Anne. Mary was also a mistress Henry VIII:
http://englishhistory.net/tudor/citizens/boleyn.html

There are no references that I can find to the place Rochford in her early life.

Answer 3

Anne Boleyn's birthdate is unknown; even the year is widely debated. General opinion now favors 1501 or 1502, though some historians persuasively argue for 1507. She was probably born at Blickling Hall in Norfolk.

Her father was Sir Thomas Boleyn, a minor courtier with a talent for foreign languages; he was of London merchant stock and eager to advance in the world. Like most men, he chose to marry well. His bride was Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the second duke of Norfolk and sister of the third duke.

Viscount Rochford was an aristocratic title awarded to Sir Thomas Boleyn in 1525 by King Henry VIII. The title was taken from Boleyn's Rochford country estate in Essex. In 1529, Thomas was promoted even further when the King created him Earl of Wiltshire. In that same year, Thomas also inherited the wealth and title of his mother's ancestors, the earls of Ormonde. Thus, the title of Viscount Rochford went to Thomas's only son, George.

The title fell out of use in 1536 when George was executed on false charges of treason. In 1542, his widow was also executed after she was implicated in the fall of Queen Catherine Howard.

Answer 4

Anne Boleyn : She was born in Blickling ( Norfolk) now comes the part people are not sure about some say she was born in 1500 or 1501 at the end of May or early June,some say its 1507 or 1509, the months stay the same. She married in January 1533, & was executed on 19th May 1536. Also another thing that people agree on is that she had a sixth finger & a large mole or goiter on her neck

Answer 5

Anne Boleyn was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and 1st Earl of Ormonde, and his wife Lady Elizabeth Boleyn (born Lady Elizabeth Howard), daughter of the 2nd Duke of Norfolk.

It is not known for certain where she was born, but it was either at her family's mansion of Blickling Hall in Norfolk or at their favourite home of Hever Castle in Kent. I

t was rumoured later in her life that she had been born with six fingers on her left hand (at the time considered a sign of the devil), probably as a reaction by Catholics following Henry VIII's separation from the church of Rome.

She had two siblings: Her sister Mary was probably a little younger than she was and her brother George may have been older.

Answer 6

George was created Lord of Rochford by Henry VIII as a sign of favor to Anne. Anne was actually raised in France at the french court as a lady in waiting to King Henry VIII' sister.

Answer 7

Definitely Anne Boleyn by far. Second would probably be Katherine of Aragon. Both were remarkably strong and courageous women. They both fought for what they wanted and would stop at nothing to get it. They just did it in different ways. I really couldn't explain why I like Anne best though...I just do.

Answer 8

The Boleyn family were originally Tenant farmers from Sall in Norfolk, England. See the book "The House of Tudor" by Alison Plowden,NY, 1976, Stein & day, page 87.

Answer 9

Anne Boleyn was born at Blicking Hall, Aylsham, Norfolk.

Answer 10

There are conflicting ideas since no one can exactly narrow down the date of her birth year. Some say 1500 which her birthplace would have been Blickling Hall, which her parents resided until 1504, some believe her birth year was 1507 which would put it at Hever Castle.

It was considered treason to speak of her after her death, so much is not documented for these purposes.