Knole; "the romantic embodiment of a bygone age".
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The guidebook states “Knole was built to impress” and it still has the ‘wow factor today. Driving through the beautiful estate to get to the carpark heightens expectation of what you will see when the immense house comes into view. Seeing this majestic residence for the first time will, to use an overworked phrase, “blow your mind”. It is simply stunning. Looking at the surrounding countryside you will see an amazing setting and immediately want to see the whole package, the house and the park. It is one of the largest country houses in England and it sits amidst one of the last remaining deer parks in Kent. The medieval manor of Knole was bought for £266 in 1456 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Bourchier and from then on, Knole gradually metamorphosed from a small manor house into a magnificent archbishop’s palace. Passing to each new archbishop in turn it ended up, for a brief period in the hands of Henry VIII. The archbishop of Canterbury, being the most important cleric in the kingdom, needed an outstanding facility to entertain high status guests from all over the country as well as Europe. Hospitality meant that the dining facilities would have to be of the highest order as well as the sleeping facilities. Entertainment in Tudor times for the upper classes also meant extensive and quality hunting was to be expected and hence, the beautiful deer park today. Reading this blog, you will come across famous historical figures such as Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and her “favourite”, the Earl of Leicester, Nell Gwynn and the authors, Vita Sackville West and her lover, Virginia Woolf.
The front door.
Looking back to the front entrance in what is known as the “Green Court”.
Looking the other way through into “Stone Court”. The clock above Archbishop Bourchier’s tower is believed to have been bought when it was owned by the Tudors.
An information board near the cafe shows an artist’s impression of Knole. Not all is open to the public but you can get a good idea of the size of the building.
A visit to Knole on a beautiful day is a wonderful experience and will take a day to do it justice.
The photo above was taken less than a hundred metres from the house and the deer did not flinch at all as I slowly approached. The National Trust manage 100 acres of park land for you to roam and enjoy. Walks long and short abound and everywhere you look will be wild deer. There is somewhere in the region of 350 Sika and Fallow deer in the surrounding parkland for you to observe and several highpoint to get an amazing panoramic view.
The above two photographs were taken from the roadside with the deer being less than fifty metres away and totally oblivious of our presence.
Walking in this beautiful and tranquil countryside is good for the spirits and it easy to see why Henry VIII enjoyed his occasional visit in his busy schedule. Hunting or “the chase” was one of Henry’s favourite sports, especially in his younger, slimmer days.
Incorrect but fascinating facts about Knole.
There is a myth about Knole that is what is called a “calendar house”, ie designed along the lines of a calendar. Supposedly, Knole was built around 7 courtyards, and has 365 rooms. Added to this there are 52 staircases and 12 entrances! Sadly, this is not quite true because there was no overall design/plan but it does have some extraordinary statistics ie 7 acres of roof and 400 rooms.
What is the story of Knole?
Knole, the archbishops and Henry VIII.
Knole’s story begins in 1456 when the small manor of knoll was acquired by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Bourchier. His aim was to create a palace worthy of an esteemed archbishop and this plan was added to by successive owners. On Bourchier’s death, it was passed on to succeeding archbishops including two key “players” in Henry VIII’s matrimonial problems, Archbishop Warham and Archbishop Cranmer. Knole was designed to impress important visitors and, no doubt, Henry VII was impressed when he visited Archbishop Morton in 1490. One of Henry VIII’s great passions was hunting and he was able to hunt there during the the tenure of Archbishop Morton. To get her “out of the way”, Henry sent his first daughter, Princess Mary to live at Knole for six months whilst he attempted to solve his marital problems by divorcing Mary’s mother, Catherine of Aragon.
Archbishop Cranmer - this painting was photographed at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
In 1538, Cranmer handed Knole over to Henry VIII who also asked for another local palace belonging to the office of Archbishop of Canterbury at nearby Otford. Henry’s plan was to stay at Knole but have his large household staff at Otford. Sadly, Henry did not stay at Knole very often due to his heavy work schedule and his ownership of around sixty other houses.
A young Henry VIII (as seen at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Knole changes hands numerous times between key “Tudor Players”.
Henry VII’s successor, the young King Edward VI granted it to his chief adviser who acted like his regent, John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland. When Edward died in July 1553, Dudley plotted to place Lady Jane Grey, great granddaughter of Henry VII and Dudley’s own daughter in law, on the throne instead of Princess Mary, Henry VIII’s eldest daughter. Dudley had persuaded the dying King Edward to declare Mary illegitimate, as well as his half sister Elizabeth thus leaving Jane as the next in line. Jane has become known as the “Nine Days’ Queen and was executed by Mary on acceding to the throne along with Dudley.
Queen Mary granted it to the new Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Pole but he died twelve hours after Mary, in November 1558. Queen Elizabeth now granted it to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and son of the late John Dudley, in 1561. Countless books, films and TV programmes have been created about their relationship. Were they lovers or just good friends? They had known each other since they were children and so were certainly very good friends. In 1566, Leicester gave it back to Elizabeth in return for land elsewhere and so eventually it ended up being purchased by Thomas Sackville, Elizabeth’s Lord Treasurer through a series of possibly “fraudulent financial dealings”.
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Elizabeth’s “favourite”.
Thomas Sackville
As Lord Treasurer, Thomas Sackville was very wealthy and wanted to impress his illustrious visitors by having a house worthy of his status. He therefore transformed Knole, adding new buildings built to the latest fashion in 17th century architecture and done by royal craftsmen, the best in the land. His emblem, the leopard appeared all over knoll, inside and out.
Charles Sackville
Charles Sackville, continued the governmental links by becoming ambassador to France. He often came in contact with the famous Louis XIV of “Versailles fame” and obviously impressed him because Louis gave Charles highly valuable presents that you can still see at Knole today. Later on , he was made Lord Chancellor of England and was able to acquire royal furniture and ornaments that were “surplus to requirement” of king Charles II. His actions have resulted in Knole’s spectacular collection that is considered one of the best in the world. His other claim to fame is that he had a passionate affair with the infamous Nell Gwynn before she became the royal mistress of Charles II.
Nell Gwynn (National Portrait Gallery)
John Sackville, 18th Earl of Dorset and 3rd Duke of Dorset
Like, Charles Sackville, he was ambassador to France and “on his watch”, the French Revolution took place. He is best known for loving art and building the great art collection at Knole including paintings by Joshua Reynolds. He is also known for his great number of affairs and at least two illegitimate children. One scandalous affair was with the Venetian ballerina, Giovanna Baccell who was the principal ballerina at the Kings theatre Haymarket in London. He was so infatuated with her that he commissioned top artist of the day, Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds to paint her portrait. Not being content with their paintings, he also commissioned a sculpture showing her nude, lying on a divan.
Vita Sackville West
Knole is also famous for being the birthplace of Vita Sackville West (1892-1962), author, prize winning poet, famous and pioneering gardener at Sissinghurst Castle and lover of the famous author, Virginia Woolf. On visiting Knole, Virginia made it the setting for her novel, “Orlando”, published in 1928 and described by Vita’s son, Nigel, as a “love letter” to his mother. It is focused on Orlando, a poet who lives for centuries and changes sex. It is seen as Virginia Woolf’s exploration of the limitations imposed on women by male dominated society. Sadly, inheritance of Knole always went along the male line and so although she was the next direct descendant, Vita saw possession of Knole pass to her uncle and cousin.
Essential information.
Getting there
By Car to Knole
Sat Nav TN13 1HX
Please note: some sat nav systems will not direct you correctly to Knole using our postcode. Use postcode TN13 1HX and follow directions below. From north and west: leave M25 at exit 5 (A21) and follow signs for Sevenoaks. Turn right at mini-roundabout. Park entrance is in Sevenoaks town centre, left off A225 High Street (opposite St Nicholas Church). From south: Leave A21 at junction signposted Sevenoaks and follow A225 for Sevenoaks. Park entrance is on right after about 2 miles. From east: Follow A25 through Seal. Turn left at traffic lights. Continue ahead and through High Street. Park entrance is on left 300 yards beyond top of the High Street
This is what the National Trust say about coming by car. The car park has enough capacity to accommodate our visitors during off-peak times. However, recently the number of cars we have welcomed to Knole has increased, particularly at weekends and bank holidays when the car park often gets full.
When the car park is closed, there will be signage at the entrance and a member of staff will be positioned on Sevenoaks High Street waving cars by to prevent a gridlock. It is not safe for vehicles to wait on the High Street until the park re-opens - it also causes major traffic disruption to the local area.
Parking is free for NT members or £5 per car for non-members. Please note that members without a valid card will be charged. Parking spaces are optimised for cars facing forward rather than reversing into the space. Disabled parking spaces are available and marked.
Knoles shuttle bus service from Sevenoaks
Knole offers its visitors a FREE bus service between Sevenoaks Station and Knole, stopping along the way at the bus station and new Sevenoaks Town Centre car park. The Knole Shuttle bus service will run on school holiday Sundays, reducing the impact of Knole’s busiest days on local roads, decreasing the amount of vehicle emissions in the SSSI park and easing the pressure on Knole's car park.
As an added bonus, anyone presenting a Knole Shuttle bus ticket or train ticket on the day of issue will receive a 20% discount in Knole’s shop and bookshop (see terms and conditions below).
When does the free bus run?
The service will run:
Sunday 16 & 23 February (half term)
Sunday 5 & 12 April (Easter)
Sunday 10 May (Bank Holiday)
Sunday 24 & 31 May (half term)
Every Sunday from 26 July - 30 August (summer holidays)
Sunday 25 October & 1 November (half term)
Sunday 20 & 27 December (Christmas)
What times will the free bus run?
The service will run on a continuous half-hourly loop, starting at 11am and shuttling back and forth between the train station, Town Centre Bus Station/Sevenoaks Town Car Park and Knole. The last pick-up from Knole will be at 4.45pm.
Where will the bus stop?
The route starts at Sevenoaks Station, then travels onto Stop C at the Town Centre Bus Station in the High Street (next to Boots), before ending up at Knole. The new Sevenoaks Town car park is just behind the bus station, making it a convenient stop-off for drivers to park and ride. Knole’s car park gets very busy on Sundays and frequently has to close, making this shuttle route the best option to choose, as well as a fun, stress-free way to arrive.
When you arrive at Knole, you will be dropped off at the front of the house.
More information about the service
The bus is a Mercedes Sprinter 19-seater, with a ramp and space for one wheelchair plus some pushchair storage. The eye-catching purple and yellow livery of Go Coach is hard to miss, just look out for the ‘Knole Shuttle’ sign at the front.
The bus is FREE in support of sustainable transport and promoting car free visits to Knole.
Information about Sevenoaks Town Car Park
There are 480 parking spaces at Sevenoaks Town Car Park (Sat Nav postcode TN13 1LW), with 19 Blue Badge bays, 8 electric vehicle charging points, motorcycle parking and cycle storage. To get to the shuttle bus from the car park, you just need exit at level 2 and turn right towards the town centre. From there you will see the bus station and Boots, just behind the smaller Buckhurst 1 car park. Sevenoaks Town car park is FREE on Sundays for all.
As part of a fun, active day out, Knole is only a 15 minute walk from the car park along a dappled woodland path. When you exit at level 2, you will see a brown sign pointing to Knole to the left. Follow the path until you reach a fork – the right-hand path is a direct route down to The Gallops (a stunning scenic area of Knole’s parkland), or you can reach the same destination by taking the left fork by the children’s playground.
By train
There are frequent trains to Sevenoaks from London Charing Cross, taking just 35 minutes. Thameslink trains also run from central London and there are direct trains from Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Ashford, Canterbury and Kent coast.
From the station it's a one-mile walk to Knole Park and a further 1/2 mile to Knole - see map. There is also a free shuttle bus on school holiday Sundays (see below), or you can take a taxi.
Tickets
Opening times;
Winter schedule until March 6th
Showrooms Closed
Gatehouse tower 11:00 - 17:00
Brewhouse Café and shop 10:00 - 17:00
Car park 10:00 - 18:00
Park Dawn to dusk
Bookshop 10:00 - 17:00
Conservation studio 11:00 - 17:00
Summer schedule from March 7th
Showrooms 11:00 - 17:00
Gatehouse tower 11:00 - 17:00
Brewhouse Café and shop 10:00 - 17:00
Car park 10:00 - 18:00
Park Dawn to dusk
Book shop 10:00 - 17:00
Conservation studio 11:00 - 17:00
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Articles of interest
The old phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words” is very appropriate when looking at the magnificent Wenhaston doom painting. In the medieval world where few people could read, a painting of the events of the “Last Judgement” would carefully show what was going to happen to souls when the world would come to an end. This would guide people to manage their lives to ensure a wonderful future. The picture of Hell left no one in doubt that sinners would have a horrible future. The doom painting at Wenhaston is in remarkable condition with very little missing or incomprehensible.