“27 July marks one of the most important days in Hever’s history. On this day in 1903, the sale of Hever Castle to William Waldorf Astor was completed. Astor wrote in his personal ledger:
“The sale of the freehold of the Castle and 630 acres was completed by Edmund Meade Waldo. Esq.”
The Astor family’s story is a ‘rags to riches’ one, just like that of the Bullens in Tudor times. Johann Jakob Astor, William Waldorf Astor’s great-grandfather, emigrated from the small German town of Walldorf to America. He took up fur-trading in the north-east and became increasingly successful until, by the end of the 18th century, he owned a fleet of 12 merchant vessels. He extended his empire to New York real-estate and when he died in 1848, he was the richest man in America. “
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Hever Castle News