Knole House

Knole is an English country house and former archbishop’s palace in west Kent, standing in Knole Park, a 400-hectare park just south-east of Sevenoaks. The house covers four acres and ranks among England’s largest, its mix of late-medieval and Stuart buildings forming a Grade I-listed ensemble. Major work took place in the 16th and early 17th centuries, and a 2019 conservation project restored its fabric and collections. The surrounding deer park has been managed for more than 400 years since 1600. Knole’s origins lie in the 15th century, when it passed from the Langley family to James Fiennes, Baron Saye and Sele, whose building efforts were cut short by his execution in 1450. In 1456 Archbishop Thomas Bourchier bought the estate, enlarged the house, and created Green Court and a new entrance tower. The Tudor archbishops Morton, Deane, Warham and Cranmer all lived here, and Henry VIII hunted deer in the park. Visitors find a grand courtyard called Green Court and state rooms with Tudor fireplaces bearing the motto of Archbishop Morton. The dry valley between house and town once served as a natural deer course, and the knoll gives the house a sheltered position. The wooded landscape still provides grazing and timber, while the Lower Greensand soils keep the ground firm. The deer herd has survived centuries of management, and the house’s varied architecture shows every century from the 15th to the 17th.