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  Anne of Cleves

 — TWO-BEDROOM CITY APARTMENT —

ST. KATHARINE'S MARINA

by the Tower of London

                                                                                                                  photos © Home At First

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VIEW FROM THE BUILDING LOCATION OF THE ANNE OF CLEVES APARTMENT OF THE
EAST DOCK OF ST. KATHARINE'S MARINA AT THE TOWER BRIDGE AND THE TOWER OF LONDON.
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THE

ANN OF CLEVES

CITY APARTMENT is a two-bedroom, 1½-bathroom, two-story London maisonette apartment, a comfortable lodging for four to six persons. The apartment is on the second and third floors of a building bordering exclusive ST. KATHARINE'S MARINA by the Tower of London. The marina’s enclosed riverside location provides a quiet pedestrian refuge with a yachting atmosphere while allowing easy access to all of Central London.

DOUBLE BEDROOM AT ANNE OF CLEVES APARTMENT.

HISTORY: St. Katharine's and the Tower of London were witness to much of the drama of TUDOR ENGLAND. During the Middle Ages, King Henry VIII and his six wives were royal patrons of the St. Katharine’s hospice that occupied the site of today's St. Katharine's Marina serving as both a hospital and a lodging for travelers and pilgrims. The king and his wives were often in residence at the neighboring TOWER OF LONDON, then a royal palace as well as a fortress. ANNE OF CLEVES was wife #4 (reigning 1540, following #3 JANE SEYMOUR and ahead—no pun intended—of #5 KATHRYN HOWARD). Anne, Henry's “Flanders Mare”, knew the Tower least of all of Henry’s wives, for her marriage lasted only 6 months before ending in annulment: Henry divorced Anne and sent her away officially because she had been promised to another man prior to her marriage to Henry. The reality was probably that Henry had no interest in Anne, but found a younger, prettier woman, Kathryn Howard among the queen’s courtiers who interested him plenty.
          No longer queen, Anne became designated as “The King’s Sister”, living out her days in the opulent Hever Castle, ancestral home of the Boleyn family. Anne outlived her erstwhile husband by ten years before herself dying a natural death in 1557 and being buried in Westminster Cathedral. No such peaceful end for the man who brought Anne and Henry together. THOMAS CROMWELL, Henry VIII’s chief minister-advisor, having fallen out of favor with the king for, among other things, arranging Henry's marriage to Anne, was imprisoned at the Tower of London. There he was executed there by an inexperienced lad who required three chops before separating Thomas from Cromwell. Such were the neighbors at the Tower of London in July, 1540.

THE APARTMENT: The apartment’s upper floor has two double bedrooms (both with twin beds; one set of twin beds may be made up as a double bed), a full bathroom (with tub-shower), and powder room (toilet & sink). Downstairs is a comfortable living room (with double fold-out couch bed, and cable color TV), a well-equipped kitchen (microwave, coffee maker, and clothes washer-dryer), and dining area. The living room has recently been upgraded with leather upholstered sofa and chairs and a free cable internet connection. 

SPACIOUS, WELL-APPOINTED KITCHEN
AT THE ANNE OF CLEVES APARTMENT

          A furnished patio large enough for two
persons opens off the living room. Because it is on the second floor, the patio lacks views of the marina, but is private and protected from the wind. The marina is visible from the upstairs bedrooms. A hair dryer is provided, as is a table-top pay phone (accepts incoming calls; takes coins for outgoing calls). The two-story apartment is spacious, well-equipped, comfortable, and well-kept. Its optimal occupancy is

                                                  four persons, but it can accept a family of five or

Spacious, comfortable living room with
French doors leading to private patio at
Home At First's Anne of Cleves Apartment.

six using the fold-out sofa bed in the living room.Entrance to the apartment is on the lower (second) floor.
          While the entrance and hallways of the apartment building are undecorated and lack a concierge or doorman, the complex is safe (with a coded entry system), well-managed, and clean. The building has stainless steel lifts (elevators) that are spotless and well-maintained.
         Guests are met upon arrival by the friendly apartment manager who lives elsewhere in the complex. He opens the apartment, explains its workings and is available throughout your stay to answer any questions you might have.

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FLOOR PLAN OF HOME AT FIRST'S ANNE OF CLEVES MAISONETTE APARTMENT 

THE SETTING: ST. KATHARINE'S MARINA is located on the north bank of the RIVER THAMES about a five-minute walk from the famous TOWER OF LONDON and the TOWER BRIDGE. The apartment is a seven-to-ten-minute, traffic-free walk from the TOWER HILL UNDERGROUND STATION (subway trains) and TOWER GATEWAY (for the Dockland Light Railway), and a three-minute walk to a bus stop for London’s well known red double-decker buses.
         The Marina is a traffic-restricted pedestrian zone, which does not permit cars other than for a few privileged residents who

TOWER BRIDGE FROM THE RIVER
ENTRANCE TO ST. KATHARINE'S MARINA

are provided with underground parking.