Being an astonishingly handsome baronial estate Knole is proud of it’s endlessly fascinating history. House was built in 1456 as a residence for the archbishops of Canterbury. But in 1538 it was appropriated by Henry VIII and after 30 years Queen Elizabeth I gave it to her cousin Thomas Sackville, who remodeled the house in Renaissance style: Knole has remained in the Sackville family’s hands ever since.

Now Knole is partly owned by the National Trust but the Sackville family still occupy some of it. The best known member of that dynasty was writer and poet Vita Sackville West who created the elegant gardens at Sissinghurst , just 40 km ( 25 miles ) to southeast.

Knole  house is well known for:

-It’s 405-ha park with hundreds deer and lovely walks.

-It's priceless art collection including works by Van Dyck and Gainsborough.

-It's enormous collection of Stuart  Furniture, much of this was acquired at the end of the 17^th -century by Charles Sackville.

While you could easily spend a whole day enjoying the showrooms in the house, make sure to schedule in some time to explore Knole’s parkland, which offers splendid walking.