GEORGE BOLEYNE, VISCOUNT ROCHESTER, FIRST MASTER. 41 



dwelt among his books and papers. Seven miles east rose 

 Tunbridge, where Buckingham used to keep his state. Nearer 

 still lay Penshurst Park, of which young Boleyne's father was 

 the ranger. To the south, beyond the level grounds, rose 

 Ashdown Forest. In and out among these woodlands becks 

 and rivulets sang their pilgrimage towards the sea. Sweet- 

 briars grew in every hedge, and linnets built in every copse. 

 The pools were rich with lilies, and the air, though laden with 

 the scent of many herbs, was freshened by the salt of neigh- 

 bouring seas." In this charming residence young George 

 Boleyne and his sister Anne dwelt for many happy years, and 

 there they doubtless were "well entered" to the mysteries of 

 the chase, in which they afterwards excelled and continued 

 to enjoy, until they were both sacrificed by ruthless bluff 

 King Hal. 



The earliest notice of George Boleyne, afterwards Viscount 

 Bochester and Master of the Buckhounds, etc., occurs in a 

 patent dated April 29, 1522, in which his name appears, joined 

 with that of his father, as the holder of various offices about 

 Tunbridge. On July 2, 1524, he received a grant to himself 

 of the manor of Grimston, in Norfolk. On September 26, 

 1528, he received an annuity from the Crown of fifty marks, 

 payable by the Chief Butler of England out of the issues of 

 the prizes of wines. On November 15 of the same year, by 

 another grant, in which he is styled " Squire of the Body," 

 he obtained the keepership of the Palace of Beaulieu, alias 

 the manor and mansion of Newhall, Essex ; gardener or keeper 

 of the garden and orchard of Newhall ; warrener or keeper 

 of the warren in the said manor and lordship ; keeper of the 

 wardrobe in the said palace or manor in Newhall, Dorehame, 

 Walkfare Hall, and Powers, in Essex ; with certain fees in each 

 office, and the power of leasing the said lands, etc., for his 

 lifetime. During the following month (December 1528) he 

 appears to have been appointed Master of the Buckhounds, 

 and to have received a fee of 4/. 10s. for feeding or providing 

 food for the hounds. We have been unable to find the 

 original patent, the only information relating to it being a 



