Visit Report

Visit to Knole Park

Tuesday June 4th 2019

Rain was forecast and for once the forecast was correct! However, Knole is such an amazing house and there is so much to see that the weather was more of an inconvenience than a deal breaker.

 

The Past to Present tour gave an excellent introduction to the history of the house and its owners. It ended in the Conservation Studio which is housed at the top of a converted Medieval barn. We were given a fascinating insight into some of the conservation equipment. Micro cloths and the equivalent of washing up liquid are frequently used!

 

The afternoon gave opportunities to visit the house. There are ten paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds and two by Gainsborough in one relatively tiny room.

 

Knole has become the centre of the National Trust’s conservation work and we were given glimpses of this throughout the house. In the King’s dressing room conservators were pinning back the wall coverings which had painstakingly been removed and washed bringing their green colour back to life.They looked as good as when they were first put onto the walls nearly five hundred years ago.

 

Lord Sackville West’s private garden which covers twenty six acres was open. His “veggie patch” is amazing.

 

So, in spite of the inclement weather, Knole Park is a NT property well worth a visit.

Susan Aldridge