240 THE ANCESTOR Among the many articles of historic interest that will figure in the forth- coming exhibition of * The Monarchs of England ' at the New Gallery few are likely to attract more attention than the hat of Henry VIII. and the shoes of Anne Boleyn, which have been lent by Mrs. Ames of Ayot St. Lawrence, Herts. The hat and shoes are in themselves notable relics, but their chief interest lies in the fact that they are the title deeds of the estate of Ayot St. Lawrence. They were given by Henry VIII. to an ancestor {sic) of the late Colonel Ames in singular circumstances. The story goes that when the king was riding through Hertfordshire with Anne Boleyn and a company of atten- dants, he passed by Ayot St. Lawrence and inquired to whom the place belonged. It was in reality a royal possession, and this was explained to Henry by one of his courtiers (the ancestor [sic] mentioned), who added that he wished it belonged -to himself instead. * And so it shall,' said the king ; and the estate was then and there handed over to the courtier, who however craved some token of its surrender. The king gave his hat and made Anne Boleyn part with her shoes, and the three articles have remained ever since in the possession of the family. A charming story, which illustrates at once the manners of the time and the well-known amiability that was characteristic of Henry VIII. That he should continue his ride in a hatless and his wife in a shoeless condition is what one would naturally expect of the king and queen.
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And now for * the ancestor ' from whom ' the family ' inherits these relics. We have only to turn to Cussans' Hertfordshire^ a modern and familiar work, to learn that 'in 1873 the manor and estate came to Captain Lionel Neville Ames, grandson of Levi Ames the third son in succession of Levi Ames and Anna Maria Poole.' The said Levi was an alderman of Bristol and his wife was granddaughter of a mayor of Bristol, whose brother acquired the said manor by purchase in 1718.^ Exit therefore * the ancestor ' who acquired it as a favourite courtier of the eighth Harry.
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But the exits are only beginning. In the official catalogue of the ' Monarchs' ' exhibition ' the ancestor ' has disappeared, but the ' relics ' were entered with their story now altered as follows : — Nicholas Bristowe, a favourite courtier of Henry VIII., was riding with the king and Queen Anne Boleyn in Hertfordshire. Passing Ayot St. Lawrence he greatly admired the place, wondering whose it was. The king said * It is mine, but now shall be yours.' Bristowe asking what evidence he was to produce of the gift, the king gave him the hat he was wearing and asked the ^ Hundred of Broadwater^ pp. 234, 236.
