Boleyn ring on display at Hampton Court
A rare gold signet ring has gone on display at Hampton Court Palace. It was found by detectorist Ashley Solly in 2019.
Finding the ring
Ashley said “I’d only taken up metal detecting as a hobby a few months before to get fit.” He was out with members of the Medway History Finders Club on the Isle of Sheppey in August 2019, preparing for a three day rally a couple of weeks later. He said “The other lads said they had already checked the field but I wanted to have a go myself. I started at 9am and was alone in the field when there was a beep after about 20 minutes on my Equinox 800 and out came the ring. It was clean and in perfect condition. It was a good day!“
PAS record
Photo: British Museum CC By SA2.0
The ring was taken to the British Museum in London the following day and recorded at the PAS as KENT-D29B09. It then went through the treasure process.
The ring is decorated with icons of the Virgin and Child and St Catherine of Alexandria on its shoulders, making it an unusual combination of both personal and religious jewellery.
It was designated a Find of Note of National Importance.
Boleyn family
The findspot is close to Shurland Hall, which has connections to the Boleyn family. Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII visited Shurland Hall for three days in 1532 on their way to France. The stay is said to have bankrupted Thomas Cheyne as he had to feed a party of 300.
Image NinjaKid CC By SA3.0
The bezel of the ring is a seal matrix with the head of a bull, which was the symbol of the Boleyn family. The arms of the Boleyn family, including Sirs Geoffrey, William and Thomas, Great Grandfather, Grandfather and Father of Anne Boleyn, is a chevron gules between three bull’s heads.
However, no documents sealed by members of the Boleyn family using this bezel have been identified or any other evidence to confirm the connection with the family.
Anne bore her own arms and the style and size of the ring suggest a male owner and so it is unlikely to have belonged to her.
A clue to the owner is a small letter between the bull’s horns which could be an “R”. Both Thomas and George held the title of Viscount Rochford from 1525 and 1529 successively, and so the “R” could be for “Rochford”.
Hampton Court
After the ring had been declared to be Treasure, Historic Palaces offered to buy it for £40,000. It went on display in the Great Hall at Hampton court on 9 February 2023.
Sebastian Edwards, deputy chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces, said: “We are thrilled to acquire this rare Tudor jewel for our collection and to be able to show it at Hampton Court for the first time this February, thanks to the Portable Antiquities Scheme and our very generous donors. This is a remarkable survival, which prompts fascinating questions about who it may have once belonged to and how it might have been used at the Tudor court. We may never know for certain if it was worn at Hampton Court by a member of the Boleyn family, but it is entirely appropriate that such a wonderful Tudor discovery can now be enjoyed by our many visitors who come to admire King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn’s incomparable Great Hall, which bore witness to many significant events of their reign.”
Ashley, who shared the payment with the landowner said “It’s a wonderful early birthday present“. He stills goes out detecting on Sundays but has since only found “lots of old coins“.