A House & A Host: Knole with Robert Sackville-West

Join Ashley Hicks as he meets Robert Sackville-West and is given an intimate private tour of Knole, one of England’s Great Houses. Famously the backdrop for Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, Knole is a ‘calendar house’, home to the Sackville family since 1603 and open to the public 353 days of the year. Watch now for a unique tour of the family’s private apartments - those rooms and corners not open to the public - and discover what it’s like to live among 400 years of history.
Filmed and edited for Cabana by James Thompson. Concept by Ashley Hicks, who photographed Knole for a new book, Knole: A Private View of One of England’s Great Houses. Available now at: cabanamagazine.com/collections/cabana-library.
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[@nigelprance2540]

One of Vita Sackville West's greatest regrets was that because she born a woman, she could not, given the standards of the day, inherit Knole the home in which she was raised.

[@lemorab1]

She had to watch her cousin, Eddie Sackville West, inherit Knole when one of Eddie's greatest regrets was inheriting it! He lived in apartment above the gatehouse and found Knole an overwhelming nightmare to be responsible for. Running Knole would've suited Vita Sackville West down to the ground. I read that Eddie sold it, but since a relative lives there, that can't be right. I think Robert Sackville West wrote a book about Knole, "Inheritance," which is fascinating. In her biography of Vita, Victoria Glendinning claims that Vita had a key to the locked gate of one of the more secluded, walled gardens at Knole, and she used to quietly visit the garden.

[@nigelprance2540]

@@lemorab1 I agree: Vita would have been the perfect mistress of Knole. From what I've read about Eddie SW, the details and challenges of life were off putting for him .

[@kismit100]

Same rule of primogeniture applies today

[@apebass2215]

​@@kismit100 not in all cases, it depends on the family.

[@patriciawilson4744]

What a treasure of time preserved. Thank you for showing your house and letting people go through it.

[@batubop651]

I had to do a quick google when he called it a ‘calendar house’ as it’s not a concept I’m familiar with. From wiki: ‘A calendar house is a house that symbolically contains architectural elements in quantities that represent the respective numbers of days in a year, weeks in a year, months in a year and days in a week’. Whether windows, doors or rooms etc. Apparently Calendar Houses are very rare, only a handful exist. There’s further examples and explanations on the wiki page. Hence the 365 rooms, 52 staircases, and 7 courtyards in Knole House. Thanks for another great video, he was a great host who is clearly and understandably very passionate and knowledgeable about the building, very interesting!

[@sian2337]

I wonder why they chose to do that.

[@sharonreichter2537]

My grandmother grew up in Sevenoaks and took me there when I was 7. I took my own son there when he was about 13. Wonderful experience

[@ronniealex5523]

I just feel it’s all so very beautiful in every way imaginable

[@shimmyhinnah]

What a very humble and unpretentious man. This was very well done.

[@CabanaMagazine]

So pleased you enjoyed this, thank you for your comment :)

[@FRASERMCGREGOR72]

What a wonderful man. I could spend hours listening to him regale stories about his beautiful home. The light that fills this home is just magical. I would feel very calm and safe here.

[@zoesolanki961]

What a top bloke, has a fantastic attitude and I'm sure is making a great job of being the custodian of such a monument

[@Chemtrail85]

Nos chateaux sont beaux certes, mais le charme de ces grandes demeures anglaises est exceptionnel....ces objets. Ces meubles,ces boiseries...et la campagne tout autour....quel art de " bien " vivre....

[@lizf9686]

lovely thank you and I think the light is just perfect

[@loots9821]

Its beautiful. Id love to see it

[@mariavilaneidevieiracosta5450]

Perfect like a Beautiful dream👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@gavinflorence9416]

This is incredible thank you to whom ever posted this!

[@CabanaMagazine]

So pleased you enjoyed it, do keep an eye on our channel for more.

[@ncrtedted6812]

nice humble man

[@graemeneale9311]

I think one of the constraints must be the enormous costs associated with the upkeep of the estate. In my home I am still able to afford to switch on the table lamps to illuminate the darker rooms during the Winter months

[@glennsepulveda4856]

I have just seen Daphne de Maurier's Manderley!!!..

[@gabriele-stonesculptures]

Can I live there please? I will help with the gardening,

[@ibosquez5238]

I'll join you. I can do gardening.

[@Chemtrail85]

😂😂😂

[@wintergreen777]

Stunning!

[@keithh2028]

Did anyone else catch that @2:32 that's Wallis Simpson's (aka Duchess Windsor and wife of Edward VIII) signature?

[@henrylivingstone2971]

Yup that’s most definitely her Wallis Warfield Simpson

[@jacksmalling4265]

Good spot!

[@MsYingyang2]

Yes, I did.

[@terryarrow702]

Such an interesting place. I bet at night it’s spooky though 😮

[@califdad4]

Especially a dark and stormy night

[@stefanpop6091]

I just love this!

[@fredahwiwu5219]

As a reader this is fascinating

[@whall5477]

Like him, I'd be just fine with the constraints of living in an apartment in that beast.

[@lauraswann5543]

Knole is beautiful. I do wish, however, that Sir Robert had switched on the lights for this house tour.

[@im4designco547]

gorgeous

[@b.walker5955]

That is one REALLY BIG CABANA.

[@giselaafonso]

Vita Sackville West ❤

[@rajjie100]

The heating bill alone

[@kathleensteeves488]

I’ll wash the windowsill s😊❤❤❤❤❤

[@nagolhayze9366]

Did the original inhabitants of that grand house, Knole, have 238 children ? Why would one family need a house with so very many, many, rooms ? Mind boggling indeed.

[@mehitabel6564]

Well it wasn't built for a family: it was originally built as a palace for the then Archbishop of Canterbury 500 years ago, the senior bishop of the Church of England. So it was a place of business, primarily.

[@batubop651]

I had to do a quick google when he called it a ‘calendar house’, from Wikipedia: A calendar house is a house that symbolically contains architectural elements in quantities that represent the respective numbers of days in a year, weeks in a year, months in a year and days in a week. So he said Knole has 365 rooms, 52 staircases, and 7 courtyards. The wiki page has more examples and explanations of this concept, it’s quite fascinating.

[@lauraswann5543]

Knole was originally built for the Archbishop of Canterbury, who would have had to accomodate delegations, church representatives etc. Then, as a family home, it would have hosted grand balls and receptions. The guests would have had to be accommodated there after the festivities.

[@merrim7765]

@@mehitabel6564 Right! Many many staff offices and apartments for living quarters and visitors on extended stay

[@marycahill546]

I visited Knole about 30 years ago. Can't recommend it really. The grounds are lovely, but the house is terribly dark inside and it's hard to properly appreciate what is there. Everything is SO old and falling apart! Sissinghurst was much more satisfying if you are on the trail of Vita Sackville-West.

[@apebass2215]

Very old houses filled with very old things need to have low light levels because sunlight will destroy the antiques. When I visited Knole more recently I thought it was lovely, I particularly enjoyed the exhibition on how they restored parts of the house that had been eaten by Deathwatch beetle.

[@TheLivingBackyard]

Somehow youtube thinks this channel is for children and didn't let me select "the bell" for notifications....?

[@CabanaMagazine]

How strange, I've looked at our settings and all should be ok now if you'd like to try again :)

[@kummonyeomso6912]

Looks like Drew Prichard has been in there .

[@davidmchugh2512]

A shame there is no additional light for filming, yes I know that light is not good for things like tapestries however, a few minutes would not hurt. What's the point of filming something that you can't see.

[@orion8835]

Having been to Knole back in the early 2000’s it was a very strange rabbit warren of incredibly old creepy DARK rooms. I found every inch of it draining and utterly joyless. I thought that the darkness was just some conservation practice yet it seemed that no room had proper light beyond the endless corridors. The property is so Tudor that the rooms seem to not make any sense even in an 18th C concept way. The grounds are very warm and lush full of ancient oak trees and the magical deer running about. However the inside is a freaking nightmare of brown, greys and dust…

[@zairagutierrez7538]

I haven't been there but by watching this video I thought, "how dark are these rooms"? They need some lights at least, I can't blame him for living there if it's free but I wouldn't want to live there honestly.

[@lemorab1]

@@zairagutierrez7538 Me neither! Too large and cavernous, but I would love to live in Long Barn, another home of Vita Sackville West.

[@girishsavant2302]

Where the staircase as on the thumbnail?

[@tamaracarter1836]

That is the Great Staircase of Knole (decorated between 1605-1608), over in the main part of the house. This video was only dedicated to the private family wing - hence why the state rooms were not included.

[@markfalcoff1743]

Like more real aristocrats, Lord Sackville is decidedly not a snob--open, friendly, cordial and charming.

[@lianeabeyta4515]

I have never understood why anyone would have so many rooms. And, as others have replied... I find it lonely and remote and scary when the sun goes down.

[@apebass2215]

Larger families and many social events. In an era before easy transport, guests would need to be accommodated for weeks, if not months.

[@pasavant]

I think the Queen's accent was much pusher.

[@carlivansoelen1638]

pusher???

[@pasavant]

@@carlivansoelen1638 posher. The auto correct got me.

[@andresinsurriaga1082]

It seems very lonely and remote. What does one do all day?

[@libbysingscontrezzo8419]

Worry about paying for the upkeep.

[@antoniafoster8264]

I’m sure there’s plenty to do.

[@jamesbarnes8016]

Move buckets to catch the rain

[@andresinsurriaga1082]

@@jamesbarnes8016 🤣

[@BooRadleyTube]

Nothing in England is very remote. Knole is on the edge of Sevenoaks, a largish town just 34 km from the very centre of London. It's also very close to the M25, the motorway that encircles London, so it's reasonably easy to either drive or catch a train to the centre of town. It's open to the public, so it wouldn't be lonely, and there would be no end of things to do. There's a 26 acre walled garden, a deer park, a bookshop, and community events like the school cross-country run, art workshops, a Fungi Festival, exhibitions, outdoor movie nights, children's activities, Tudor costumer parties, sports, drop-in craft activities during the holidays, etc. It's a pretty busy, thriving place. If anything, there's too much to do and not enough time to do it in.

[@michaelrg3836]

"There are some minor constraints to living here"... Translation: tourists make his blood boil.

[@theofarmmanager267]

A little cynical. I would suggest that he is sufficiently realistic to accept that the trade off between “tourism” and his privilege of being able to live in part of the house has worked out very well for him. As a result of death duties (actually inheritance tax) it is incredibly expensive for any family to retain ownership of a very large estate given also the large cost of maintenance that goes with old houses. I’m not complaining about the principle of inheritance tax although it seems to me that it disincentives people from saving in order to pass on wealth to their children and rather benefits spendthrifts. With particular regard to this house, Knole was gifted to the National Trust in 1946 to be opened to the public. This usually is part of an arrangement with the Revenue over patients of taxes. Whilst the private apartments were leased back to the Sackville-West family, the family retained ownership of the majority of the parkland, the deer herd and the contents of the house. I would suggest that’s not a bad outcome - the NT has to maintain the building (paid for from NT membership and entrance fees) whilst the family retain all the bits that don’t need so much upkeep. The downside for the family is some loss of privacy and restrictions on activities where they might impinge upon the NT-owned buildings and NT visitors. I would happily accept those restrictions and suspect that the current owner knows he has got a very good deal. The same family also owned Sissinghurst Castle outside Cranbrook. Castle is a…..imaginative word as it really is one (very interesting) Tudor tower. I suspect most visitors go for the gardens which are very fine.

[@lemorab1]

@@theofarmmanager267 Was Eddie Sackville West the one who gifted the house to National Trust? This seems like a deal that James Lees Milne would've brokered.

[@johnmurray6636]

Everyone and everything is incredible