Women and power

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

The laws of primogeniture have always ensured that the list of Sackville Dukes and Earls dominate their female counterparts in Knole’s history, but the women weave a fascinating and rich thread throughout its 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.

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.

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
Knole   Kent

Lady Arabella Cope

The 19th century brought a succession of crises and legal battles for the Sackville family at Knole. Arabella Cope, daughter of Sir Charles Cope, married John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset in January 1790.

Find out more about Lady Arabella Cope
An image of Lady Betty's dressing room, with dark wood paneled walls covered in paintings, a fireplace with two small painted figures standing either side, a spinning wheel, wooden tables and upholstered footstools

Lady Betty Germain 

Lady Betty was a great friend of the 1st Duke and Duchess of Dorset, Lionel and Elizabeth Sackville, and stamped her mark on three of Knole's showrooms

A grand, wide staircase sweeps upwards, with carved wooden newel posts and columns, paintings decorating the walls, and a reclining stone statue of famous dancer La Baccelli at the base
Knole   Kent

La Baccelli

Giovanna Zanerini (1753–1801) is one of the many women to have lived at Knole and left their mark on the house, embodied in the voluptuous plaster statue of her naked reclining form.

Find out more about La Baccelli
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.

An image of Lady Betty's dressing room, with dark wood paneled walls covered in paintings, a fireplace with two small painted figures standing either side, a spinning wheel, wooden tables and upholstered footstools

Lady Betty Germain 

Lady Betty was a great friend of the 1st Duke and Duchess of Dorset, Lionel and Elizabeth Sackville, and stamped her mark on three of Knole's showrooms