The Knole Barn is a 600-year-old building with a 21st-century interior. Find out more about the building’s fascinating history up to the present day, including the damaging fire of 1887 and its rebirth as the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio.
Built of Kentish ragstone and facing Stable Court, the barn’s north-facing slit windows ensured ventilation yet allowed cool storage conditions for hay and grain. Its use continued in this way for the next three centuries as Knole’s ownership passed from the See of Canterbury to the Tudor Monarchy, and in 1604 to the aristocratic Sackville family, well connected to the Stuart court. The earliest reference to the ‘Great Barn’ is in 1478, when Archbishop Thomas Bourchier bought the manor and estate of Knole and created an impressive residence midway between Canterbury and London.
1887
In 1887, the Barn was damaged by an intense fire. Newspaper reports described the medieval roof burning fiercely for five days and 250 tonnes of hay being destroyed. Fire crews with horse-drawn steam pumps attracted many spectators as they battled the blaze.
Victorian repairs resulted in a flat, crenelated roof considered fashionable at the time. By 1946, when Knole was gifted to the National Trust, the Barn was used mostly to house vehicles as a garage.
Find out when the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio is open, how to get here, the things to see and do and more.
Find out about the work of our team at the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio in Kent and how we help care for a large number of objects from properties all over the country.
Discover what you can see and do at the unique Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio.
Learn about people from the past, discover remarkable works of art and brush up on your knowledge of architecture and gardens.
