The Henry VIII Spanish Chestnut in the Wilderness EstateLocal tradition in Sevenoaks has it that this Spanish Chestnut tree, (along with another 40 or so planted between here and Woodland Rise and in Woodland Rise itself, of which about a dozen remain) was planted to commemorate the marriage in 1509 of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. So far no documentary evidence has been found to support this tale. However, it is highly likely that the trees were planted in the early part of the 16th century and certainly during the reign of Henry VIII. At that time, the house which stood close to where Wildernesse House stands today was known as Stidulfe’s Place after the owner (recorded in 1327 as Robert de Stidulfe). It retained this name until 1669 when it was purchased by Sir Charles Bickerstaffe who renamed it Wildernesse House.
In the early years of the 16th century it is believed the property was owned briefly by Cardinal Wolsey. But he apparently passed it on to Thomas Boleyn. So, at the time of the marriage of Henry and Catherine (in June 1509), it is possible that the owner of Stidulfe’s Place was Thomas Boleyn. As an ambitious courtier, whose two daughters were raised at the nearby Hever Castle, it is perfectly possible that Thomas sought to ingratiate himself with Henry VIII at the time of his marriage with Catherine by planting these Spanish Chestnuts in his splendid estate in Seal. If so his gesture finally worked as Henry made him a knight in 1523. But there is another theory, that the chestnuts were in fact planted by Cardinal Wolsey during his brief tenure at Stidulfe’s Place.
Of course events did not favour the Boleyn family. Three years after the execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536, Sir Thomas himself died. As he had no male successors, the property passed back to Henry VIII. He in turn passed it on to Anne of Cleaves, who also received Hever Castle, where she may have lived for a short time.
There can be little doubt that this tree (and the others still standing between the tree and into Woodland Rise) is over 500 years old. Its girth is nearly 9 metres (in 2026) and on the Woodland Trust list of veteran and ancient trees it is classified as ancient (ie certainly over 400 years old).