By Lyn Funnell 
I’d never been to Knole before, although our daughter Rana and Granddaughter Isabella went there in August.
https://unknownkentandsussex.co.uk/knole-park-medieval-deer-park-and-house-sevenoaks-kent/
It was on our list of National Trust properties that had a Christmas theme, so we had to go and see it.
Knole’s Medieval deer park is over 600 years old. And unusually it has had tourists for over 400 years, admiring its paintings, tapestries and furniture.
The Sackvilles have owned it since the 1600s and they collected art, furniture and textiles.
There was a crisis in the 19th and 20th Centuries as only daughters were born, but only males could inherit the estate.
The writer Vita Sackville-West is one of its most famous inhabitants. She was angry because she wasn’t allowed to inherit it so her cousin Eddy got it although he wasn’t very interested in it.
Driving through its acres of parkland we could see the wild deer on each side.
And then as we reached the top of the hill, there was the house, and it’s absolutely impressive!
We parked in the huge carpark and went through the archway into the courtyard. And the first place we visited was the Gatehouse Tower where Eddy lived and wrote. He was great friends with the Bloomsbury Group, especially his lover Duncan Grant.
You climb the spiral staircase and you branch left to Eddy’s lounge. I was flooded with the atmosphere of the room and I loved it! It’s set out as it would have been when Eddy lived there, with his books, writings and his record player.
Climbing further up the spiral staircase, you come to his bedroom. The plumbing’s very strange as the bathroom’s on the left of his bed and the loo’s on the right.
I wouldn’t fancy the climb after a few drinks!
At the top of the spiral staircase you’re on the roof with a beautiful view of the estate.
On the way down, I wondered how women managed the stairs in the past centuries when they were wearing a long trailing dress, a tight corset, high-heeled pumps and a high pointed hat!
Knowle’s main house is too much to take in on one visit.
The rooms are huge and the walls are covered with priceless paintings and tapestries.
We shall definitely return in the Spring.
The good thing about a National Trust membership is, you can visit their places as many times as you like.
Knole
Sevenoaks,
Kent,
TN15 0RP
