Knole Park is the last medieval deer park in Kent and is home to a 350 strong wild herd. The deer are descendants from those hunted by Henry VIII and roam freely on the 1000 acres of parkland.
I arranged to meet up with an old college friend here so we could explore Knole House together. As I was early I wandered around the magnificent grounds breathing in the scenery.
The main house is owned and managed by the National Trust (from 1946) but a substantial part of the property, land and gardens is still owned and lived in by the Sackville family. I had not done my homework when I suggested meeting V here as one, it is not disabled friendly and two, the gardens are only open to the public on a Tuesday and today was Thursday! However we still had a good time not least because I directed her into the disabled car park and stood waiting by the driver's door to help her out. So what you might think! Well unfortunately it was not her car, nor her driving, just some poor lady terrified of opening the car door because this strange woman was standing there waiting! V was in another parking space watching and wondering what on earth I was doing. From then on we couldn't stop laughing.
Knole began life as a medieval manor until Bourchier, the Archbishop of Canterbury bought the 12th cent estate in 1456 and converted it into the building we see today.
It wasn't long before Henry VIII desired it and was given it as a gift. It remained in the hands of Royalty until 1603 when Thomas Sackville purchased the freehold and it has remained in that family ever since.
You enter Knole through this stone gatehouse leading you into a courtyard. There is a second gatehouse to the inner courtyard around which are the main staterooms.
Photography is not allowed in the staterooms so I cannot show you the vast collections of textiles, silver, portraits and royal furniture which are on display. As Lord Chamberlain. Charles Sackville could take his pick of unwanted royal furnishings. As no new monarch ever wanted reminders of previous monarchs he was able to take virtually all the royal Stuart furniture from Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace. It is said the Knole house now has the largest collection of royal Stuart furniture in the world.
The orangery was the only building I could photograph.
I did take a couple of sneaky photos of the Great staircase.
Such a beautiful, historical place and what incredible, huge trees!! Terrific captures!! Thanks for sharing!! Hope you have a great new week!!
ReplyDeleteCool old buildings! And I love all the deer.
ReplyDeleteHow do they keep the deer there? Fences? Strange that the gardens open only one day but the house more often. Amazing place. Is it still occupied as a home?
ReplyDeleteI like the castle and the name Sackville, which reminds me of a British mystery about to unfold. Excuse the pun but according to your post, he did get a “sack full” of loot when the property exchanged hands.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fantastic place to roam around. What a pity you were not allowed to photograph the textiles though.
ReplyDeleteThe parkland and the deer are so beautiful. The buildings are magnificent. It is hard to imagine something that old and so beautiful. I am told there is nothing older than 200 years in this country - so new compared with what you show!
ReplyDeletethat was a nice place to explore. and take photos. impressive building.
ReplyDeleteJust the last photo gives us an idea of the grandeur of the building. Deer like Australia and have become a pest. Now, in a year's time you will have forgotten much of the detail above, but you won't have forgotten the car park incident.
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful place
ReplyDeleteFascinating post and glorious photos ~ what a time you are having!
ReplyDeleteHappy Week to you,
artmusedog and carol
How interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful park, and a very impressive building. The wealth it must have taken to build and maintain something like that is breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images from the park. I like the variety.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. The National Trust seems to have saved a lot of properties in Great Britain it seems. I had to google "Orangery" interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful old place. We visited several houses and castles from the national trust, it is so good that those buildings are kept so well.
ReplyDeleteI never realised you were such a scary lady! Never mind, you're pretty good with words and a camera.
ReplyDeleteI never realised you were such a scary lady! Never mind, you're pretty good with words and a camera.
ReplyDeleteThe car park incident sounds like the sort of situation I end up in - you try to help and people think that you are trying to kidnap them!
ReplyDeleteCheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
How glorious this is!! I love English History...and especially Henry VIII/Anne Boleyn era. And to think the deer in this park is descendants of the herd from some 400/500 years. Wow.
ReplyDeleteHow very beautiful! I've been reading your other posts but not commenting as time has been getting away from me. Just wanted you to know I'm still here. :-)
ReplyDeleteHow nice from Henri to have left some deers you can admire today ! Looks like a beautiful place, even if you terrify poor ladies ! Henri had a good taste when he asked for a castle to be offered to him as a gift !
ReplyDeleteSo interesting to think the deer are descendants of the herd of Henry VIII. Your parking lot incident made me laugh! It's always so disappointing not to be able to take photos.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great bit of history! The furniture ... Wow! And those deer have quite the pedigree! Funny parking lot story!
ReplyDeletebeautiful deer´s and impressive trees. And I like how the old castle actually looks a bit modern :)
ReplyDeleteNeat post, good photos. I love Knole - it's years since I visited the house, but there are public footpaths across the estate.
ReplyDelete