Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever the rank of captain. Business positions included the chairmanship of the Times Publishing Company and life presidency of Times Newspapers Ltd. He was appointed High Sheriff of Sussex in 1955. He inherited the barony and Hever Castle in Kent on the death of his father in 1971. In 1955, he founded the Astor of Hever Trust, a charity aimed to collect donations for arts, medicine, religion, education, conservation, youth, and sport. Astor married Lady Irene Haig (1919–2001), youngest daughter of Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861–1928), and Dorothy Maud Vivian (1879–1939), on 4 October 1945. They had five
Hever Castle is now open to the public as a tourist attraction. There have been three main periods in the construction of this historic castle. The oldest part of the castle dates to 1270 and consisted of the gatehouse and a walled bailey. The second period was when the castle, then in need of repair, was converted into a manor in 1462 by Geoffrey Boleyn, younger brother of Thomas Bolyen, Master of Gonville Hall, Cambridge. He added a Tudor dwelling within the walls. The third period of repair and renovation was in the 20th century, when it was acquired by William Waldorf