Transformation

有關(guān)桑伯里古堡的最早文字可以追溯到11世紀(jì)，古堡本身經(jīng)由亨利八世國王授予許可，由白金漢宮第三代公爵愛德華·斯塔福德主導(dǎo)建于1510–1521年。實際上，斯塔福德比亨利更有資格繼承王位，因而他奮起抗?fàn)帲硎救绻嗬麩o子而終，則由他本人執(zhí)掌王權(quán)。此言一出，為他招來牢獄之災(zāi)。他被扣上叛國罪的帽子，剝奪財產(chǎn)和人身權(quán)，這意味著他所擁有的一切被迫上繳國庫。1521年5月17日，斯塔福德被處極刑。

斯塔福德死后，他的家人離開古堡。隨后，亨利八世皇族成員入住。青少年時期的瑪麗一世，亨利八世的女兒，受教于Exeter大主教，時常在這里下榻。1535年，亨利和第二任妻子安娜·波蓮造訪，整整逗留10天。當(dāng)時，古堡與一片六平方英里的狩獵場地相連，他們盡興游玩，樂而忘返。瑪麗去世后，古堡完璧歸趙歸還給斯塔福德家族，但經(jīng)年逝去，古堡年久失修。

桑伯里浩如煙海的歷史時光里，亨利八世和安娜·波蓮并非唯一在此居住過的多舛伴侶。若回溯到10世紀(jì)，古堡前身為桑伯里莊園，早期業(yè)主中有一位叫Brictric，Algar之子，是有權(quán)有勢的撒克遜貴族。據(jù)稱，他擔(dān)任駐佛蘭德斯（中世紀(jì)歐洲一處伯爵領(lǐng)地）英國大使期間，罔顧并不屑佛蘭德斯瑪?shù)贍栠_(dá)的愛慕之意。瑪?shù)贍栠_(dá)傷心欲絕，不久之后，與英格蘭首位諾爾曼國王威廉一世結(jié)為伉儷。雖貴為一國之母，瑪?shù)贍栠_(dá)依舊對當(dāng)年情思被拒憤恨難解，遂說服丈夫收繳Brictric包括桑伯里莊園在內(nèi)的所有領(lǐng)地，并將Brictric本人投入溫徹斯特大牢，使其殘度余生。

直到19世紀(jì)30年代，諾?？斯艏易宓幕羧A德家族接管古堡，南翼得以修繕，家族一部分家人居住于此。1966年，南翼被售予餐飲大亨和Porlethen的泰勒男爵—肯尼思·貝爾。其他區(qū)域則改頭換顏，蛻變而為如今的古堡酒店，古雅而大方。

Whilst the earliest accounts of a manor at Thornbury date back to the 11th century， the Castle itself was built between 1510 – 1521 by Edward Stafford，third Duke of Buckingham， under a licence granted by King Henry VIII. However， when Stafford， who actually had greater claim to the throne than Henry， spoke out， claiming that should Henry die without a male heir， then he would be able to take the throne， he was arrested. He was then charged with treason and attainted – meaning that everything he owned passed back to the throne， and on 17 May 1521， he was beheaded.

After Stafford's death， his family left the Castle， and it was staffed by Crown Retainers. Guests during this period included Mary I， who often stayed whilst in her teens， being taught by the Bishop of Exeter. Henry and Anne Boleyn visited in 1535， staying for 10 days and enjoying the six square miles of hunting land then attached to the castle. Although Mary Tudor returned the castle to the Stafford family， over subsequent years the castle fell into disrepair.

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were not the only ill-fated lovers to occupy Thornbury during its long history. The estate can trace its roots back to the 10th century when it was the manor of Thornbury. One of its earliest-known owners was the powerful Saxon nobleman Brictric son of Algar. While serving as an English ambassador to Flanders， Brictric reportedly spurned the romantic attentions of Matilda of Flanders， who later married William the Conqueror， the first Norman king of England. Still rankled by the rejection once she became queen， Matilda persuaded her husband to seize Brictric's lands – including Thornbury manor – and had Brictric thrown into a Winchester prison， where he lived out the rest of his days.

It was not until the 1830s when it was owned by the Howard family – the family of the Dukes of Norfolk – that the south wing was renovated and became a home for a branch of that family. In 1966， it was sold to Kenneth Bell， a restaurateur and then to the Baron Taylor of Porlethen. The other wings were then renovated into the beautiful hotel it is today.