Knole

Over het museum

Records of a manor called Knole go back to about 1250, but the great house began to take shape around 1444, when James Fiennes started a large building project. After Fiennes was executed for treason, the house was sold in 1456 to Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury. Bourchier and his successors made Knole a palace for entertaining powerful guests. It became a royal residence after Henry VIII admired it in 1538, and Elizabeth I visited with her court in 1573.

In 1603 Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, bought Knole and spent his last years remodelling it. From the early 1600s the Sackville family filled the house with art, furniture and textiles, creating showrooms that have attracted visitors since the 18th century. Knole has been a show house ever since, and one of the world's rarest collections of Stuart-era furniture, paintings and textiles survives there. The novelist and music critic Edward Sackville-West lived in the Gatehouse Tower from 1926 to 1940.

The house covers seven acres of roofs and has around 400 rooms, although the popular story that it has 365 rooms is a myth. Today the National Trust cares for the showrooms, the courtyards and the Gatehouse Tower. The house stands in more than 1,000 acres of parkland that is home to a wild deer herd, and visitors can also see conservation work in progress in the Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio.

Hoogtepunten

• Great Hall with its carved oak screen of 1605
• Spangle Bedroom and the James II bed in the Venetian Bedroom
• Rare silver furniture in the King's Room
• Gatehouse Tower with rooms once lived in by Eddy Sackville-West
• Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio
• More than 1,000 acres of deer park

Vaste collectie

• Showrooms – Historic rooms with one of the rarest collections of Stuart-era furniture, paintings and textiles, including the Spangle Bedroom and the King's Room.
• Gatehouse Tower – The tower above the entrance, with the modest rooms where the novelist Eddy Sackville-West lived, and views from the top.
• Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio – A working studio where visitors can see conservators looking after Knole's collection; open Wednesday to Saturday.

Beheerder

National Trust

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Prices as published on 11 October 2026; the website says the showrooms ticket price is reduced from 2 November because some showrooms close. National Trust members are admitted free but must still pre-book at weekends and in school holidays if they want to park. Parking is free with any admission ticket and there is no parking-only ticket. Visitors who only want to walk in the park can park in Sevenoaks town.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

The Great Hall is the only part of the showrooms that wheelchair users can reach; all other showrooms are upstairs with no lift, and the Gatehouse Tower has a steep, narrow spiral staircase. An iPad in the Great Hall shows the rooms upstairs, and a rollator can be used upstairs. There is one step with a ramp into the Great Hall entrance. Lifts serve the gift shop, the bookshop, the Orangery and the Conservation Studio. Nineteen Blue Badge spaces are in the car park about 145 metres from the café and the house; the paths to the café and toilets have a gradient of 1:14. Wheelchairs and a powered mobility vehicle (book by phone at least 24 hours ahead) can be borrowed. There are two large accessible toilets and no adult changing facilities. Induction loops are at the till points and a portable loop is available. A Braille guide and large-print panels are provided. Assistance dogs are welcome throughout.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Kinderwagenvriendelijk: niet aanwezig
• Verschoonruimte

Families can follow a spotter trail of mythical creatures in the showrooms, climb the Gatehouse Tower, walk the marked park routes of 4 to 5 km and visit the bookshop's children's corner. Toddler groups and craft workshops are held at set dates. Baby changing is in both toilet blocks. Pushchairs are not allowed in the showrooms or tower.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

Use postcode TN13 1HX for sat nav, because TN15 0RP may not lead to the entrance. From the M25 leave at junction 5 (A21) and follow signs for Sevenoaks; the park entrance is in the town centre, off the A225 High Street opposite St Nicholas Church. The walk from Sevenoaks station is 30 minutes, and from the High Street entrance there are footpaths through the park. Cycle racks are next to the picnic area.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel
• Kluisjes

Brewhouse Café with a rooftop terrace, sandwiches, soups, jacket potatoes, cakes and children's lunch boxes; a gift shop and a bookshop with a children's corner in Green Court. Lockers for large bags are available; ask at the Visitor Centre. An enclosed picnic area is near the car park.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

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