The Greats at Knole House

By greats, I mean the Great Hall, the Great Screen and the Great Staircase and to be honest they’re very well named.

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Knole, which is close to Sevenoaks and was our stop off on the way to our cabin for our escape weekend close to home, is a former Archbishops’ Palace. The Great Hall would have been right at the heart of it and where the whole household would eat together. For me the floor was a fantastic part of the space, but there was much more to it than that.

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The carved oak screen dates to the early 1600s and is decorated with leopards and other symbols of the Sackville family.

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But the ceiling can’t go unmentioned - isn’t it fabulous?

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The staircase, unlike the hall, was only for members of the family, distinguished guests and high ranking sevants.

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The paintings though - they really should be named as greats too. They depict the Four Ages of Man, the Five Senses and the Seven Virtues, though one virtue - temperance - is missing.

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The sculpture is Giovanna Zanerini, a celebrated Italian ballerina and mistress of the 3rd Duke of Sackville. She was known by her stage name - La Baccelli and lived at Knole, and she remains there today.

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There’s much more to see at Knole, and considering it’s only about thirty minutes from home I can’t believe this was our first - but certainly not our last - visit. It’s definitely worth a look if you’re close by.

PoCoLo