Knole

Important notice -

We're working hard to reopen many of our places where it is safe to do so. However the house, courtyards, Brewhouse Café, shops, car park & toilets at Knole are currently closed.

Be part of a 400 year history of visiting Knole

More about this place

Family walking dogs

Which places are open and what you need to know before you visit 

We're reopening the places you love, gradually, safely and in step with government advice. Our houses, gardens and parklands remain closed for now, in line with the rules about ticketed venues. But we're opening some of our coast and countryside car parks in England, so you can get out into green spaces. You'll need to book for some of them. Some coast and countryside car parks in Northern Ireland will start to reopen from 27 May. For now, all car parks in Wales have to remain closed on government advice. Read this article to find out what's open, how you can visit, and what to expect from your visit.

A jay bird with pinkish brown plumage and a flashes of blue, white and black feathers on its wing, perches on a branch looking upwards

The park at Knole 

Knole’s car park and other facilities remain closed following current guidance for coronavirus. There is still access to Lord Sackville’s Knole Park via the many pedestrian gates.

The nearest parking is in Sevenoaks town centre, around ten minute walk away, including the Sevenoaks town centre car park (Sat nav postcode TN13 1LW).

We’re asking everyone to follow government guidance to support social distancing and avoid creating hotspots. Take extra care to respect local residents and other visitors. Please take your litter home with you.

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Knole

History

Knole's enormous Great Hall with checkered black and white tiled floor, red walls, wooden carved panels and moulded plaster ceiling

A brief history of Knole 

Knole is full of treasures and was designed to impress its visitors. Originally an archbishop’s palace, the house passed through royal hands to the Sackville family – Knole’s inhabitants from 1603 to today.

Elaborate grey pannelled walls and a huge detailed marble fireplace line the walls alongside portraits of the Sackville family. In the middle of the room are piece of gilded furniture

The collection at Knole 

Knole is home to one of the rarest collections of Stuart royal furniture, paintings, objects and textiles. The collection is incredibly well preserved thanks to Knole having been a show house ever since Thomas Sackville first acquired it in 1605.

A portrait of Lady Arabella Cope wearing a dark dress, white neck ruff, red beret style hat with large pompom style decoration, surrounded by a gilt frame

Women and power 

Women weave a fascinating and rich thread throughout Knole's tale. Often wealthy and powerful in their own right, they left their mark on the house and its land, a legacy that remains with us today.

The Golden Idol from a set of the Story of Nebuchadnezzar tapestry at Knole

Knole's tapestries 

Knole is home to some of the finest 17th century Flemish and other tapestries on display. Many have been in the Sackville family for more than three centuries.

A collection of Stuart era chairs and footstools upholstered in blue and red patterns sit against a dark paneled wood wall hung with portraits in gilt frames of well known royal court personalities from the Tudor and Stuart eras

Knole's furniture 

Knole is home to some of the last surviving furniture from Whitehall and Hampton Court Palaces, among the most expensive status objects of their time.

A sumptuous four-poster bed hung with golden coloured drapes sits in a plush bedroom with tapestries on the wall, Stuart era chairs, portrait over a fireplace and silver mirrors on the walls

Knole's state beds 

The three state beds at Knole are some of the most significant surviving pieces of royal furniture in Britain.

Portrait of Eddy Sackville-West by Barbara Ker-Seymer, c.1930

Exploring LGBTQ history at Knole 

Knole has been home to and shaped by people who challenged conventional ideas of gender and sexuality. Discover their stories and the challenges they faced.

Oil painting on canvas, Victoria (Vita) Mary Sackville-West, Lady Nicolson (1892-1962) by Philip Alexius de László de Lombos

Vita Sackville-West and Knole 

Discover Vita Sackville-West's connection to Knole; her colourful life and her literary legacy as a poet, novelist, gardener, biographer and journalist.

A close-up of Lady Anne Clifford's portrait - a pale face with brown eyes, dark brown hair wearing a golden ruff round her neck

The melancholy chronicles of Lady Anne Clifford 

One of the most well recorded feminine contributions to Knole was that of Lady Anne Clifford (1590-1676), who wrote a series of diaries during the period she lived at Knole.

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Knole

Our work

Gerry Alabone in the Conservation Studio at Knole

Conserving Knole 

As one of the jewels in National Trust's collection, Knole is a natural home for all things conservation. From the Conservation Studio at Knole to the day-to-day work carried out in the 400-year-old showrooms by our dedicated team of experts, find out more about how we preserve this magnificent collection for generations to come.

A long, narrow attic room stretches ahead, with wooden floorboards, a window at the far end, patched walls and trunks and chairs lined up against one side wall

The attics at Knole 

Discover the fascinating stories waiting to be discovered in Knole’s hidden attics, including graffiti and witchmarks. Find out how to book behind the scenes attic tours ...

A series of witchmarks discovered in a room built to accommodate James I at Knole, a National Trust property in Kent, have been dated to the months immediately following the Gunpowder Plot.

Witchmarks at Knole date back to Gunpowder Plot 

A series of witchmarks, believed to ward off evil spirits, were discovered in a room built to accommodate King James I at Knole following the Gunpowder Plot.

A grand staircase richly decorated with painted walls displaying the Five Senses, Seven Virtues & Four Ages of Man, with a large carved wooden leopard sitting on top of a stairpost

Sackville leopards on the loose 

Back in 2016, the striking carved leopards from the Great Staircase at Knole were removed during conservation work.

A huge four poster bed with rich red drapes and hangings, a large marble fireplace in the background surrounded by dark wood paneling, colourful tapestries on the walls and matching red footstools and chairs

Dismantling the Spangled Bed 

In July 2017 the glorious, 400-year-old Spangled Bed was taken apart to be sent away for conservation. Find just what it took to conserve this enormous bed.

Three letters dating back to the seventeenth century have been discovered under the floorboards at Knole in Kent.

Seventeenth century letters discovered at Knole 

Many amazing discoveries were made during the Inspired by Knole project, including three letters dating back to the seventeenth century hidden under the floorboards at Knole.

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Knole

Learning

A group of school children dressed in school uniform stand gazing upwards at the ceiling in the Great Hall, a dark oak pannelled room with elaborate plaster ceiling

Learning with Knole 

While Knole is currently closed, we do intend to honour all existing pre-booked school visits depending on governmental guidance. If you have any concerns or queries, please read this article for advice on how to get in touch with us.

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Knole

Art and collections

Our collections

Explore the objects and works of art we care for at Knole on the National Trust Collections website

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