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Knole, Kent

Historical Description

Knole, a noble mansion in Sevenoaks parish, Kent, in a park about 63- miles in circuit, adjacent to the E and SE of Sevenoaks town. It belonged in the 15th century to Lord Say and Sele; was purchased from him in 1456 by Archbishop Bouchier; was rebuilt by that prelate, and left by him to ths see of Canterbury; was enlarged by Cardinal Morton, and visited in his time by Henry VII.; gave entertainment at two periods in the time of Archbishop Warham to Henry VIII.; was resigned by Cranmer to the Crown; is stated to have been visited in 1573 by Elizabeth; passed through a succession of royal favourites to Thomas Sackville, Earl of Dorset; went back for a short time in the reign of Charles II. to the Crown; returned to the Sackville family; and belongs now to Lord Sackville. It covers, with its outbuildings, about 3 acres of ground; it was completely refitted in 1605-7, so as to take the impression of that period on both the architecture and its furniture; it exhibits, as to general effect, the English collegiate character; it presents, on its principal front, a central gatehouse and a long range of gables and unrelieved wall; it includes a great hall, 75 feet long and 27 high, with a flat ceiling and a dais; and it contains a large collection of historical portraits and other interesting objects. The stables were destroyed by fire in 1877, but have since been restored.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Maps

Online maps of Knole are available from a number of sites:

CountyKent

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