Henry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant

Here are most of the locations where Henry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant was filmed, with information on what made them significant during the life of the Tudor monarch.

PROGRAMME FOUR – TYRANT

Westminster Abbey
London SW1
www.westminster-abbey.org
Site of Henry VIII's coronation. He later revised the coronation oath to make it clear that the liberty of the Church was subject to the supremacy of the crown.

Ushaw College
Durham
www.ushaw.ac.uk
The Roman Catholic seminary for the north of England. Here is kept the 'Ushaw roll', a prayer aid once owned by Henry VIII.

Acton Court
Iron Acton, Bristol
www.actoncourt.com
Henry and Anne stayed here in 1535, in the east wing that owner Nicholas Poyntz added to the moated manor house especially for the visit. He was knighted for his pains.

Fitzalan Chapel, Arundel Castle
West Sussex
www.arundelcastle.org
Still the burial place of the dukes of Norfolk, the 14th-century Fitzalan Chapel is physically attached to the local Anglican parish church but separated from it by a glass wall: in 1879, it was deemed to be a separate structure and so could remain Roman Catholic.

Hever Castle
Edenbridge, Kent
www.hevercastle.co.uk
Among the collection of Tudor portraits here are images of Henry's older brother Arthur, Henry VII, and Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's penultimate wife.

Durham Cathedral
Durham
www.durhamcathedral.co.uk
Voted Britain's best-loved building in 2001, this is the greatest Norman structure in the country. The cathedral played a part in the Pilgrimage of Grace, the great revolt against Henry VIII that swept the north in 1536.

The National Archives
Kew, London
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
The National Archives is the official guardian of more than 1,000 years of UK government records. Henry VIII: Power, passion and parchment, a new internet exhibition, gives an insight into the Tudor king through his own records, documents that provide fascinating glimpses into Henry’s character and some of the decisions he made.

Fountains Abbey
Ripon, North Yorkshire
www.fountainsabbey.org.uk
This 12th-century Cistercian abbey - owned by the National Trust but maintained by English Heritage - is in ruins precisely because of Henry's dissolution of the monasteries. On 1 October 1540, the buildings and more than 500 acres of land were sold by the crown to a London merchant.

Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace)
Venice, Italy
www.doge.it/smarco/pali.htm
The walls of the Sala dello Scudo (Map Room) are now covered in copies of maps, the originals of which date from about 1540 and all of which document Venetian rule and interests. There are also two giant globes.

Pendennis Castle
Cornwall
www.english-heritage.org.uk
Henry fortified this castle near Falmouth and the one at St Mawes across the harbour. Between these guns, any enemy would have had a difficult time reaching Falmouth.

The British Library
London WC1
www.bl.uk
Home of Henry VIII's Psalter and of many other documents to do with his life. The British Library is also the venue of a new exhibition about Henry.

St Bartholemew the Great
London EC1
www.greatstbarts.com
One of London's oldest churches, it was founded in 1123 as an Augustinian priory and has been in continuous use as a place of worship since at least 1143. The priory was dissolved on Henry VIII's orders in 1539 and the original nave of the church demolished four years later.

Simancas
Valladolid, Spain
www.aytosimancas.es
The Archivo General del Reino (royal archives) in this castle contains dispatches from the Spanish ambassador to England - one of the best historical sources for Henry's early life - plus the marriage treaty between Catherine of Aragon and Henry.

St George's Chapel
Windsor, Berkshire
www.stgeorges-windsor.org
This chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle was begun by Edward IV and finished by Henry VIII in 1528, 12 years before he was buried there. From 8 April 2009, there will be a year-long exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of Henry's accession to the throne, and on 4 October, David Starkey will give a talk about the king in the chapel's nave.

St Paul's Cathedral
London EC4
www.stpauls.co.uk
The present cathedral is the fourth on this site, built by Christopher Wren after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. In the crypt is the sarcophagus created for Cardinal Wolsey and then intended for Henry VIII but not used to entomb the king's body in St George's Chapel, Windsor. Instead it contains the body of Admiral Nelson.

PROGRAMME THREE – LOVER

Bodleian Library
Oxford
www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/bodley

Dating from 1602 (but incorporating the 15th-century library of Humfrey, duke of Gloucester), the Bodleian is one of Oxford University's glories. Here you'll find the manuscript of George Cavendish's Life of Wolsey - essential reading for those trying to unravel the relationship between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

Hever Castle
Edenbridge, Kent
www.hevercastle.co.uk

The childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII visited her here during their long courtship. Anne’s Book of Hours is on display, and you can also see one of the finest collections of Tudor portraits in Britain.

Hampton Court Palace
East Molesey, Surrey
www.hrp.org.uk/hamptoncourtpalace

Although Cardinal Wolsey built the magnificent Tudor palace, he never truly owned it. Henry always regarded it as his own and visited there as often as he wanted.

Penshurst Place
Kent
www.penshurstplace.com
The home of the Sidney family contains the Baron's Hall, a remarkable survival with its 60-foot-high chestnut roof and octagonal central fireplace.

El Castillo de la Mota
Medina del Campo, Spain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Medina_del_Campo_(1489)
It was from here that Catherine of Aragon travelled to England to become the wife of Prince Arthur, later marrying his brother Henry, too. Henry would use the first marriage as grounds for the annulment of his 18-year marriage to Catherine.

Castel Sant'Angelo
Rome, Italy
www.castelsantangelo.com
In 1527, Pope Clement VII fled to this massive castle by the Tiber as the mercenaries of Holy Roman emperor Charles V sacked Rome. For the rest of his life, Clement did nothing to upset Charles, which meant that he would not agree to Henry VIII's divorce from Charles' aunt Catherine of Aragon.

Acton Court
Iron Acton, Bristol
www.actoncourt.com
This Tudor house - visited by Henry VIII, who used a garderobe (privy) that can still be seen - was neglected for more than 300 years, but this simply preserved its uniqueness.

Österreichischen Staatsarchiv (Austrian State Archives)
Vienna, Austria
www.austria.gv.at
Here, in the former capital of the Hapsburg empire founded by Charles V, are kept the dispatches that he received from his ambassadors to Henry VIII's court, especially those of Catherine of Aragon's great defender, Eustace Chapuys.

St Peter's Square
Rome, Italy
www.saintpetersbasilica.org
Here, one side of the titanic battle between Henry VIII and the Roman Catholic Church was waged in the 1530s. What can be seen today, however, was not created by Bernini until the mid-17th century.

Walker Art Gallery
Liverpool
www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker
The gallery owns the full-length portrait of Henry by Hans Holbein, painted only a few months after Anne Boleyn's execution.

PROGRAMME TWO – WARRIOR

Westminster Abbey
London SW1
www.westminster-abbey.org
In the Lady Chapel are the tombs of Henry VII (who had the chapel built) and his queen Elizabeth of York. It is also the final resting place of eight other monarchs: Elizabeth I, Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots, Charles II, William and Mary, Anne, and George II.

The British Library
London WC1
www.bl.uk
Here you can see Thomas More's presentation copy of the Latin poems he wrote in honour of Henry VIII's coronation in 1509, and many other documents to do with the Tudor monarch. The British Library is also the venue of a new exhibition about Henry.

Alcázar de Segovia
Segovia, Spain
www.alcazardesegovia.com/Ingles/IndicePrincipal.htm
'Segovia Castle': Here ambassadors from England came in 1489 to ask for the hand of Catherine, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, monarchs of Aragon and Castille, on behalf of the crown prince Arthur, Henry's older brother.

Simancas
Valladolid, Spain
www.aytosimancas.es
At the Archivo General del Reino (royal archives) are dispatches written by the Spanish ambassador to England - one of the best historical sources for Henry's early life - plus the marriage treaty between Catherine of Aragon and Henry.

Penshurst Place
Kent
www.penshurstplace.com
The home of the Sidney family contains the remarkable survival of the Baron's Hall, with its 60-foot-high chestnut roof. In 1519, Henry sat down to a sumptuous banquet here given by the 3rd duke of Buckingham, whom the king ordered to be beheaded for treason two years later.

Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace)
Venice, Italy
www.doge.it/smarco/pali.htm
In the Sala del Collegio, the Venetian committee that dealt with foreign relations would meet to hear dispatches read aloud from their ambassadors abroad and would send them instructions. These documents would later show how the Venetians tried to manipulate the young King Henry.

Archivio di Stato di Venezia (State Archives of Venice)
Venice, Italy
www.archiviodistatovenezia.it
The Venetian Republic’s diplomatic correspondence is housed here, rediscovered by English antiquarian Rawdon Brown in the 1830s. It includes an instruction dated 30 May 1509 telling the Venetian ambassador to incite Henry to declare war on France.

Ightham Mote
Sevenoaks, Kent
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-ighthammote
According to architectural historian Nicholas Pevsner, Ightham Mote is 'the most complete small medieval manor house in the country'. Highlights are the great hall and the Tudor Chapel with its hand-painted ceiling. Time Team has featured the house's renovation.

Dover Castle
Kent
www.english-heritage.org.uk
On 28 June 1513, Henry and Catherine of Aragon spent the night here just before the king embarked for France and war against Louis XII.

Henry VIII Tower
Tournai, Belgium
www.tournai.be
On the border between France and the Holy Roman Empire, Tournai – now in Belgium – was the key to the rich cities of Flanders, England’s most important export market. The tower is one of the four corners of a massive fort that Henry built to hold the town following its capture in 1513.

Hampton Court Palace
East Molesey, Surrey
www.hrp.org.uk/hamptoncourtpalace
Cardinal Wolsey built the magnificent Tudor palace that is the basis of what we see today, but was deprived of it when his properties were confiscated on his fall from grace in 1530. Here you can see the painting depicting the meeting between Henry and the French king François I, which is known as the ‘Field of the Cloth of Gold’.

El Castillo de la Mota
Medina del Campo, Spain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Medina_del_Campo_(1489)
The site of the 1489 Treaty of Medina del Campo between England and Spain. During the Revolt of the Comuneros (1520–21) against Henry VIII’s nephew by marriage, the Holy Roman emperor Charles V, most of the town was destroyed by fire, and the castle’s walls and battlements still bear scars from the fighting.

PROGRAMME ONE – PRINCE

Westminster Abbey
London SW1
www.westminster-abbey.org
The 18-year-old Henry was crowned here in 1509.

The British Library
London WC1
www.bl.uk
Home of Lady Margaret Beaufort’s ‘Book of Hours’, which contains the first mention of Henry, and of many other documents to do with Henry VIII’s life. The British Library is also the venue of a new exhibition about Henry.

Eltham Palace
London SE9
www.elthampalace.org.uk
From the time of Edward II, this was one of England's largest palaces, used by a succession of royals including Henry VIII, who grew up here. After the Civil War, it fell into decline, but in 1933, it was bought by the Courtaulds, who restored the Great Hall and built their adjoining Art Deco home. Surrounding all this are the remains of Henry’s hunting park.

Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury, Kent
www.canterbury-cathedral.org
The cathedral houses a portrait of the young prince, Richard, duke of York.

Tower of London
London EC3
www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon
The 12-year-old Edward V and his younger brother Richard, duke of York – the ‘princes in the Tower’ – were brought here in June 1483 to prepare for the coronation. They were sighted periodically but then disappeared for ever. The Tower is also where Anne Boleyn stayed before her coronation in 1533 and where she was beheaded three years later.

Westminster Hall and St Mary’s Undercroft, Palace of Westminster
London SW1
www.parliament.uk/about/history/westminsterhall.cfm
This is where young Prince Henry became a knight of the Bath. In the parliament chamber, he was undressed and placed in a bath, the king entered and the earl of Oxford read: ‘Be strong in the faith of the Holy Church; protect all widows and oppressed maidens; and, above all earthly things, love the king thy sovereign lord and his right defend unto thy power.’ The king dipped his hand in the water and made the sign of the cross on Henry’s shoulder and kissed it. Then Henry was dressed like a hermit and kept vigil all night. The next day, he rode a charger into Westminster Hall, where his father dubbed him a knight.

Alcázar de Segovia
Segovia, Spain
www.alcazardesegovia.com/Ingles/IndicePrincipal.htm
‘Segovia Castle’: Here ambassadors from England came in 1489 to ask for the hand of Catherine, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, monarchs of Aragon and Castille, on behalf of the crown prince Arthur, Henry’s older brother.

El Castillo de la Mota
Medina del Campo, Spain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Medina_del_Campo_(1489)
A major part of the 1489 Treaty of Medina del Campo between England and Spain comprised the marriage contract between Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon. When her mother, Isabella of Castile, died here in 1504, the princess’s ‘worth’ to the English was severely reduced, yet Henry married her just the same.

Simancas
Valladolid, Spain
www.aytosimancas.es
At the Archivo General del Reino (royal archives) in this castle are dispatches written by the Spanish ambassador to England – one of the best historical sources for Henry’s early life – plus the marriage treaty between Catherine of Aragon and Henry.

Pendennis Castle
Cornwall
www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.11391
At this castle near Falmouth, now owned by English Heritage, jousts similar to those that Henry VIII once enjoyed are held.

Arundel Castle
West Sussex
www.arundelcastle.org
This was the home of the Howard family, among whom was the 3rd duke of Norfolk, uncle of two of Henry VIII’s wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

Penshurst Place
Kent
www.penshurstplace.com
The home of the Sidney family contains the remarkable survival of the Baron’s Hall, with its 60-foot-high chestnut roof. In 1519, Henry sat down to a sumptuous banquet here given by the 3rd duke of Buckingham, whom the king ordered to be beheaded for treason two years later.

Knole
Sevenoaks, Kent
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-knole
This enormous estate was initially a medieval archbishop’s palace – Henry VIII coveted it so much that, in 1538, he forced the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, to hand it over to him. It is best known today as the childhood home of writer and gardener Vita Sackville-West.

The National Archives
Richmond, Surrey
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/henryviii
David Starkey uses documents from The National Archives to illustrate the life of the infamous king. The government department currently has a Henry VIII online exhibition which gives an insight into Henry through his own records.

Hampton Court Palace
Richmond, Surrey
www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/
One of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by Henry VIII, this was one of the king's favourite royal residencies.

The Walker Art Gallery
Liverpool
www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/
During his reign Henry used his portraits to further his diplomatic ends by sending them as political gifts and to cement relations and alliances. One of the Walker Art Gallery's most popular paintings is the Holbein portrait of Henry VIII.