Knole

You drive through a very busy market town. Narrow streets, suicidal pedestrians with phones till you see a very narrow gate down a lane that isn’t opened yet.
You drive past three times because there is no where to park until the carpark open the gate.
Then you drive the kilometre to the house. The deer park is at the back of the high street and most of the town. A thousand acres.
Amazing.
The house started life as a palace for the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1496, past through a number of hands until it ended up with Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop and Henry XIII supporter.
Henry collected property like he did wives and suggested he might pass the property to the Crown.
It’s good to be King.
Elizabeth I gave it to Lord Dudley, a favourite,who gave it back, her cousin Thomas Sackville ended up with it and there it stayed, Vita Sackville-West is part of the family but that’s a complete story on its own.
The House is huge, over 3 acres, has 7 courtyards 52 staircases and 365 rooms.
What a a place, one off the biggest houses in Britain.
Doing the gutters takes a while.Read more