Shop once owned by Anne Boleyn's father for sale

The next owners of The Tulip Tree are required to keep it as a shop and a post office

A shop once owned by Anne Boleyn's father that claims to be the oldest in the country is going up for sale.

The Tulip Tree in Chiddingstone, Kent, dates back to 1453 and has a post office, tearoom and general store.

Owner Nicoletta Fahie-Wilson is putting the shop on the market for £230,000 after a decade of running it.

She said the next owner has "got to be someone who really wants to take on a lifestyle choice - it's not just a shop, it's a community".

Owner Nicoletta Fahie-Wilson and long-time customer of the shop, Annie Gilbert

Ms Fahie-Wilson said she loved serving the village during the Covid pandemic and was "able to really look after the community".

The Boleyn family were influential during the Tudor period.

Anne Boleyn became the second wife and queen consort of Henry VIII. Their daughter was the future Elizabeth I.

Ms Fahie-Wilson said the step into the shop is very worn out after many years of use, and the entrance has an unusually wide-hinged door.

She wondered if Henry VIII may have dropped into the shop to visit the Boleyns.

The door "would have been big enough to let him through," she said, referring to Henry VIII's famously large frame.

One customer has been shopping at The Tulip Tree for 36 years and said it was just "a little grocer shop" when she first arrived.

"The post office was used once every three months if the old lady found the key", she added.

Historic Chiddingstone village is owned by The National Trust

Anne Boleyn's father, Thomas Boleyn, bought the manor house - the overall building that the shop is part of - in the 16th century.

The Grade I listed building has been used in acclaimed films, such as A Room with a View, featuring Helena Bonham Carter.

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