As part of their summer progress to the south-west of England, on 21st August 1535 King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn visited courtier Nicholas Poyntz at his home, Acton Court, in south Gloucestershire.The progress also included a stay with the Walsh Family at Little Sodbury Manor on 23rd August.
This royal progress was not just a holiday or a break from disease-ridden London, it was an opportunity to promote the Reformation and visit the households of people seen as “pro-Reform”. Poyntz was keen to impress his royal visitors and he had added an extra wing to his home, built especially for the King and Queen modelled on rooms in Hampton Court Palace. It had been built so quickly that it didn’t even have foundations.
You can read more about this progress and the visits Anne and Henry made to Nicholas Poyntz and the Walsh family in the following articles:
- Acton Court, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn – The Royal Progress of 1535
- 23 August 1535 – Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII Visit Little Sodbury Manor
