Place Name
Anne Boleyn (about 1501 – May 19, 1536), the second wife of King Henry VIII, was Queen of England between 1533 to 1536. Their marriage and Anne’s execution for treason made her a key figure in the political and religious drama that marked the start of the English Reformation. Although married to Catherine of Aragon, Henry had become infatuated with the intelligent, beautiful, Anne. As the daughter of a diplomat, she was well used to the ways of courtly life. But it had also taught her the art of negotiation – which she used to full effect on the king. The prospect of life as the king’s lover was not for her, she held out for a grander prize, as his wife. Refusing to submit to Henry’s overtures she demanded that he divorce Catherine, setting in chain a series of events that would result in the break from the Roman Catholic Church and the establishment of the Church of England. Their relationship soon soured however, after three years of marriage Anne had failed to give birth to a son after suffering numerous miscarriages. Accused of adultery, incest and treason, she was swiftly imprisoned and beheaded. This is one of a cluster of local streets on the so-called Boleyn Estate built in about 1880 and named after five of Henry’s six wives on account of a dubious local legend linking Anne with a local mansion known locally as Boleyn’s Castle, where she is said to have lived and the king is meant to have come to court her. The castle-like mansion with tower was located at the southern end of Green Street. In 1904 its grounds were rented to West Ham Football Club and became the infamous Boleyn Ground.
