Henry VIII loved owning houses and property,
especially stately mansions and castles.
He had a habit of exchanging his
lesser-valued lands with the more
valuable properties of his nobles and wealthy citizens.
One day, meeting with Thomas Cranmer,
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry said that
he wished to exchange some of his property
for Cranmer’s estate at Knole.
Well, Cranmer really liked Knole
and proceeded to spend a good while
trying to convince the King to take
his estate at Otford rather than Knole,
extolling it as much larger and
better suited to house a regent and
his substantial travelling entourage.
Henry, a bit of a hypochondriac and already
fretting at the reappearance of the dreaded
“sweating sickness,” replied that he preferred Knole
as it was on high ground, and Otford,
on low-lying ground, made him feel unwell.
Undaunted, Cranmer persisted in his praise of Otford.
After listening patiently, Henry complimented Cranmer
on his exemplary skill at fashioning a persuasive word,
then calmly stated that he had reached a decision —
He would now have both Knole and Otford.
— Inspired by an event described in the 1998 book The Tudor Ageby Jasper Ridley.
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