Knebworth House was built by Sir Robert Lytton in 1490. Over the next 300 years the house was greatly added to by the following generations of the family.
In 1810 Mrs Elizabeth Bulwer-Lytton had a large part of the house demolished. Her son Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the Victorian author and stateman, transformed the house into the High Gothic house seen today, complete with battlements, turrets, griffins and gargoyles.
The interior has a many styles including the Jacobean Banqueting Hall, the gothic State Drawing Room, the Victorian State Dining Room, the Tudor-style Queen Elizabeth Room and the Regency bedroom of Mrs Bulwer-Lytton.
Designs from the 20th century are shown in Edwin Lutyens' Entrance Hall, Dining Parlour and Library.
Robert, the 1st Earl of Lytton, was a Viceroy of India and proclaimed Queen Victoria Empress of India in 1877. There is an Indian exhibition at the house.
Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton's study has details of his life and works. Knebworth House was home to Constance Lytton a leading member of the Suffragette movement during the 1920s.
Knebworth House has 25 acres of gardens which were simplified by Edwin Lutyens. These include the formal rose garden, pollarded lime avenues and maze.
There is also a herb garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll. The gardens are surrounded by 250 acres of parkland in which herds of sika and red deer roam. There is also an adventure playground and miniature railway.
Knebworth House is famous throughout the world for its open-air rock concerts.
2008: 28Jun-3Sept ( closed 5th July ) Please see website for other dates in Apr,May.Jun.Sept 2008; Times : Garden 11:00-17:00 (last entry 16:15); House & Indian Raj Display: 12:00-17:00 (last entry 16:15)
Tel: 01438 812661 Knebworth House Website
