#Knole House

[sitting-on-me-bum]

For some 500 years, wild deer have roamed the land of the Knole House, a former archbishop's palace in the United Kingdom. This study showed that deer had an especially strong correlation between the evolution of male antlers and female brains.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JIM RICHARDSON, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

[travellerthroughtime]

Textiles at Knole House (NT), Kent

[unefemmemapparut]

[thesixthduke]

[livesunique]

Ballroom at Knole House, Sevenoaks, Kent, United Kingdom

[history-of-fashion]

ab. 1702-1714 Figure of Lady in Queen Anne Dress (dummy board)

(Knole House, Kent)

[master-john-uk]

Godden Green, Kent - 1955.

Godden Green is a small hamlet on the edge of Knole Park, about one mile east of Sevenoaks, Kent.

The Buck's Head public house has had it's ups and downs over the last thirty years, but has now returned to being a traditional English pub serving some interesting real ales. The menu is good too... mainly using locally sourced food. The Ightham steaks may be a little pricey, but are well worth it... with the beef coming from a farm a little over two miles away.

[mothmiso]

Sussex & Kent (2) (3) (4) (5) by d0gwalker

Via Flickr:

(1) The front of Knole House, Kent, showing the gatehouse and Jacobean gabled facade. (2) White deer in the parklands surrounding Knole House. (3) The Landgate in Rye, Sussex, England. It marks the entrance to the centre of the medieval town and was built in 1329. (4) (5) View down the hill of Mermaid Street, Rye, Sussex, and the wrought iron sign hanging outside the Mermaid Inn.    

[blackswaneuroparedux]

The true love that has survived is mine for you and yours for me.

- Vita Sackville-West to Harold Nicolson

The writer Vita Sackville-West always felt she belonged at her lavish ancestral home: Knole, in Kent. She was distraught that as a woman, she couldn't inherit it. When she married the diplomat Harold Nicolson, though, they found another historic place in the weald of Kent: Sissinghurst Castle, a magnificent collection of Tudor buildings and a sprawling farm, all of which had long been neglected.

When Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West first saw Sissinghurst, it was a ruin. The sprawling farm in Kent had been for sale for two years, its moated Tudor buildings were mostly derelict and the garden was a rubbish dump. Their teenage son Nigel told them the property was ‘quite impossible’. Nonetheless, Vita went ahead and bought it in 1930 for £12,000. Built on the site of a medieval manor, it is known as Sissinghurst Castle although there is no castle - the name comes from the 18th century French prisoners of war, held there in cramped, smelly conditions, who sarcastically dubbed it ‘le chateau’.

Vita, Harold and their sons spent their first night at Sissinghurst in one of the estate cottages, eating sardines and soup by candlelight. From these unpromising beginnings, Vita and Harold made Britain’s most revered garden. In the pantheon of British gardens, Sissinghurst is our equivalent of the Mona Lisa. Its extravagant loveliness and atmosphere of dreamy romance, as well as the famously unconventional love affair at the heart of its history, has made this a place which continues to fascinate. Vita and Harold transformed the grounds at Sissinghurst into the spectacular gardens which now attract thousands of visitors every year.

Vita and Harold formed a genuinely loving partnership and a marriage that lasted until Vita's death in 1962. Yet their letters and biographies reveal that both Vita and Harold had numerous same-sex relationships during their life together. On Vita’s part this included some very serious relationships - most famously, those with Violet Trefusis and Virginia Woolf. Their marriage was the foundation of their life together, offering both constancy and freedom for them both to pursue their same-sex desires and at the centre of which was Sissinghurst which was the bedrock of their marriage together.

The aristocratic Vita married Harold in 1913. They were a fashionable and popular couple - she a writer, he a diplomat - but although they were devoted to each other, they were both predominantly homosexual and had numerous affairs during their marriage. Vita, who dressed in pearls, a silk blouse, riding breeches and lace-up leather boots, was especially promiscuous. With Vita, it was not so much a matter of love triangles as love dodecahedrons. Vita pursued anyone who took her fancy at any given moment and several marriages were destroyed as a result.

One of the great dramas of the Nicolsons’ marriage was caused by her infatuation with Violet Trefusis, with whom she ‘eloped’ to France in 1920. Violet’s husband and Harold chartered a small plane and the two men set off together in pursuit of their wives, Harold eventually persuading Vita to return. His love affairs were much more low-key than hers. In one biography, Nigel Nicolson commented that for his father, ‘sex was as incidental, and about as pleasurable, as a quick visit to a picture gallery between trains’.

What bound the couple together, even more than their sons, was their five-acre garden at Sissinghurst. Its creation was more than just an artistic endeavour. The energy and time they poured into it also afforded them the privacy they needed to conceal the nature of their marriage from the world.

Vita and Harold had made their first garden at their house, Long Barn near Sevenoaks, where they lived between 1915 and 1930. This was where they developed their style and made most of their horticultural mistakes; by the time they moved to Sissinghurst, they were confident gardeners and within their first two years Harold and Vita had cleared decades’ worth of weeds and brambles, laid new paths, restored buildings and excavated a lake.

They were very much hands-on gardeners and did most of the work themselves, not least because in the early years they weren’t very well off, living on Harold’s salary and Vita’s earnings as a writer. They agreed on a strict division of labour: Harold worked out the ground plan - still regarded today as a masterpiece of ingenuity and subtlety - but was allowed to plant just two of the garden’s many ‘outdoor rooms’.

Vita ruled supreme when it came to the rest of the planting. Most of the large plants, the shrubs and trees - and her beloved roses - were bought in from nurseries. As the garden filled out she would propagate plants from seeds and cuttings and eventually had grown enough plants to sell to the garden’s paying visitors. Her mantra when it came to planting was ‘cram, cram, cram every chink and cranny’, and she filled the garden until it overflowed with flowers, something which occasionally caused fierce disagreement. In a diary entry for 1946, Harold complains that whereas he wants plants which add shape and perspective, ‘she wishes just to jab in the things which she has left over’. Vita, of course, won the argument. ‘In the end we part, not as friends,’ he records grumpily.

Rather endearingly, though, Vita was keenly aware of the gaps in her knowledge and regretted not being a trained horticulturist. Late in life, when the garden was already internationally famous, she enrolled on one of the Royal Horticultural Society’s training courses, even though she herself was a member of the RHS’s governing council. Roses were Vita’s particular passion. In the post-war period, when neat, shrubby hybrid tea and floribunda roses were all the rage, she championed old-fashioned roses such as the opulent damasks, gallicas and centifolias. As much as their colour and scent, she loved them for their historical associations, writing: ‘To me they recall the brocades of ecclesiastic vestments, the glow of mosaics, the textures of Oriental carpets.’

The roses are still one of the great glories of Sissinghurst.

The most famous area, imitated by countless gardeners across the world, is the magnificent White Garden. It was only planted in 1950, perhaps conceived as a reaction to the years of wartime drabness, the khaki uniforms and blackout curtains. The odd thing is that the White Garden is not really all that white. Vita called it ‘my grey, green and white garden’ and the artfully chosen foliage sets off the white flowers so that, at certain times of day and in the right light, they appear to float in mid-air. The effect is like being in that delicious halfway state between dreaming and waking.

Vita died in 1962. Shortly before her death she wrote to Harold that ‘the true love that has survived is mine for you and yours for me’. After her death, visitors to the garden would sometimes see Harold sitting there, tears streaming down his cheeks as he remembered his wife. He died in 1968, a year after the garden was handed over to the National Trust.

[marzipanandminutiae]

Been ages since I saw Crimson Peak (and didnt like it- it felt waaaaay sexist) but anyway- doesnt it say that that is the siblings ancient inherited family home? But it's in (late) Victorian style? I think Guillermo wanted a ~gothic mansion~ but didn't think about the implications of that (unless houses are out of time like ghosts are or some shit like that)

(I respectfully disagree about the sexism, but everyone is entitled to their opinions about media)

I thought that too for a long time! Even as a huge fan of the movie, I chuckled fondly at it with my friends because, oops, this supposed "centuries old" house is clearly Victorian Gothic Revival! oh, Del Toro, you self-indulgent visionary! we'll let it slide this time, haha. :)

my friends who are also from the US, like me. and therein lay our mistake

see, the house was supposed to have been built in the 17th century per the supplemental info in the official art book. and grand European-style buildings didn't really exist in North America back then. so I didn't know that...

(Knole House, Kent, UK. This room decorated in the early 17th century.)

(Audley End, Essex, UK. Also early 17th century)

(Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK. Completed 1611.)

(Aston Hall, Birmingham, UK. c. 1618.)

...yes, this style I'd only ever seen in revival buildings DID have a specific historical precedent.

Obviously Allerdale Hall is a heightened version of this style, incorporating some elements that would end up more popular in later Gothic and Jacobean revival houses than actual manors of the early 17th century. But I think it can pass more for a rather odd Jacobean house than I initially believed.

[theunabashedepicurean]

Knole: A Private View of One of Britain’s Great Houses. Owned by the 13th generation of the Sackville family, Knole is one of the grandest country houses in all the land. Alongside 52 staircases and 365 rooms, Knole boasts the finest collection of Royal Stuart furniture in the world. Authored by Knole’s current owner, Robert Sackville-West, and photographed by Ashley Hicks, @rizzolibooks have recently published a sumptuous book celebrating the interiors and history of this storied country pile. Photograph by @ashleyhicks1970 #knole #knolepark #sevenoaks #kent #england #rizzoli #rizzolibooks #robertsackvillewest #ashleyhicks #countryhome #countryhouse #englishcountryhouse #jacobean #nationaltrust #interiors #stateroom #interior #interiordecor #decoration #interiordecorating #interiordecoration #interiordecorator #art #artworks #antiquefurniture #stuart #decorativearts #panneling #historichomes #historichouse (at Kent, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClgvUdOI7f5/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lilimariposawrites]

Introducing... Aubrey College!

I based the village of Aubrey on Sevenoaks, Kent purely bc I looked at google maps and did the whole 'how long does it take to get from X to Y' because I wanted Aubrey to be close enough to London that Siena doesn't live in town and thus, doesn't see Anthony interacting w/Kate a bunch. Otherwise, you know our girl would've broken up w/him ages ago and it was important for plot reasons that Kate didn't find out they broke up for a while.

Anyways, turns out Sevenoaks has one of the top 5 biggest country houses in all of England, Knole. So, like... it was fate!

I mean, look at that place. It could def house a small college. (Where do the students live? How big, exactly, is the college? Shhhh....)

[travellerthroughtime]

Knole House (NT), Kent

[handelplayssims]

And we’re back again! This time with a grumpy Ashlynn going off to go fishing! We have the park and it’s small streams, the titular springs in the center, and the housing area. I say it’s time for the titular springs! Incidentally, with Oasis Spring’s being a desert, it’s likely one of the only areas where fishing is still around in the winter time. Which, smart for Ashlynn a little. We’re only getting tiny fish so far in this spring. At least the minnow counted for collection purposes. Bettas are also quite fiesty from what I know. I’d put it in my fishtank at home but we need to mount a fish! Perch...mm. Cowplant Berry at least gives money. AYE! There we go. Tambaqui! And since she’s close to leveling up her skill, let’s go a little longer and catch one more fish. Bass. Classic! And good eating. Still not enough on the skill though so more! More fish! And a second tambaqui. Good haul. Good haul!

Next is to win a competitive game. That’ll involve returning home. Let’s wait for the kids to leave for school first. Right then, let’s gather up some boys! And gals! And play some cards. Let’s go with Lanz, Brad from the streets and Semma. Been awhile since we chatted with Semma. ...I forgot I only had two other chairs instead of three. Semma and Lanz then. I see that, “Ask What Brad’s Deal Is” Social and suddenly remember “oh yeah, I fought against him in the streets. Yeaaah!” You get negative sentiments from that! And apology ought to help with that. Anyway, we got lots of pleasant chatter going around...but no winning yet! So it’s time for the standby. Video gaming. Ashlynn will prove herself to be the best! And there she goes! A game winner! ...but very sad at the loss of some of her social connections. She’s a people person after all, and friendships decay fast for those folks.

Kiara’s back from school and is sleepy and Zayne is hungry. As it goes, as it goes. Back to Ashlynn and she wants to become friends with Seema...but she is friends. Online chat, perhaps. And Santiago is sleepy as well. Nap time. Zayne wishes to become enemies with Megan Knoles. Welp. Might as well. Jesus, this kid’s been combatative. -writes down hot-headed for potental traits upon ageing up-

Megan Knoles is a kid of two sims I created. I have identified her as “queer but will wait until teenage years until we figure out how specifically she’s queer.” I mean, her dad and mother are both bi. Anyway, I realize what this family is. It’s cat-family versus dog-family. Natural rivals!

Definitely a time to mark down hot-headed as a potential trait for ageing up into. Annnd he lost the fight. Welp. Time to delcare enemies (and again, the whim itself is gone, -grumble-) and then head back home. For there is nothing left to do in a dazed moodlet other than sleep! First parent to spot Zayne in his mood is...Santiago. Welp. ...nothing really I can do to talk about the dazed moodlet other than to go into gossip and go “Hey you know this person?” and Santiago doesn’t so he wouldn’t know anything. No particular reason to persue questioning either. But his whim does allow for other questioning! To complete his work task! AKA, go and interview four sims about their life and write about them. Annnnd the toilet breaks down so it doesn’t really m- oh he repairied it quickly enough. Good good. Now to the streets! Very first person he ran into was...Brad! Wooo! Time to interview Brad about himself! A file clerk who’s childish, ambitious and a child of the ocean. -nods nods- Weird for you to be hanging out here but eh. Time to write that article!

Aye! Zayne finished his aspiration! He has all four aspirations finished! Normally I would think about ageing him up but I want there to be a sort of age buffer between him and Kiara a little bit more than there would be. She’s 67 days until ageing up and he’s 39. I’d say she needs to be 30 days from ageing up but that’s 37 days away. And he’s 39 from ageing up into a teen. So we’re just going to let his ageing play out normally.

Now Kiara wishes to listen to music and huh. We don’t have a stereo in this house. Huh. Explains the lack of music tastes around here. I’m giving her a basic stereo to go with, to listen to the blues. Also Zayne decided to pop on over to Santiago and ask for advice. I would have stopped him but eh, he’s dazed and confused. Let’s send him to bed and ohp, Ashlynn is going to bed as well. Hmm. Kiara’s responsibility level is a bit high. I’d have her skip school but- well I don’t remember if Ashlynn wants to go into work or not. Time to double-check annnnnnd yep! It’s not time to go into work with Ashlynn. So we can hang with Kiara and have her skip school for a day.

The monster under the bed comes for Zayne. Santiago spritzes the monster away...and then makes fun of him for being frightened by such a silly thing. Annnd that festering grudge is refreshed. Santiago can now force Zayne asleep at least. And now he’s at level 5 and can ground kids. Woo. And now it’s time for Kiara to sleep. Making it time for-

Neighborhood Watch!

Glimmerbrook: The Malloy household recently moved out.

Windenburg: The Fraley household has moved in.

Keisha Wooley in the Wooley household has died. Keisha tried fixing the toilet and it randomly burst into flames.

Minkz Landis in the Landis household has died. Minkz was victim to a vicious chicken attack.

[biglisbonnews]

Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester, Michigan This grand mansion was the home of Matilda Dodge Wilson, widow of carmaker John Dodge, and her second husband Alfred G. Wilson. It was built in 1926-1929 and designed by the firm Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls which also designed Detroit’s Guardian Building. Buhl Building, Ford Piquette Plant, and the Dodge Main Factory, among many others. The 110-room Tudor Revival mansion is the fourth-largest historic house museum in the United States and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Each of its 36 chimneys has a distinct design and stone carvings on the exterior featuring the Dodge and Wilson family crests and native woodland animals. The study has a carved oak frieze with scenes from the life of Alfred Wilson. There's also a secret staircase, gold-plated bathroom fixtures, an Aeolian organ, Tiffany glass, and paintings by Anthony van Dyck, Thomas Gainsborough, and John Constable. The grounds include a golf course, stables, and Knole Cottage, a fully functioning playhouse with a kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, nursery, and bedroom. Born to German immigrants, Matilda Rausch Dodge Wilson had a notable life in industry, agriculture, politics, and education, and was one of the wealthiest women in the world during her lifetime. She was John Dodge’s secretary before marrying him and acted as a manager in the Dodge Brothers’ company. After being widowed with three children and three stepchildren, she remarried lumber baron Alfred Wilson and adopted two more children. She oversaw livestock breeding of shorthorn cattle and Yorkshire hogs. In 1931, Dodge was appointed to the Michigan State Board of Agriculture and in 1940 became the 43rd Lieutenant Governor of Michigan—the first female Lieutenant Governor in the country. In 1957, the Wilsons gave the property and extensive grounds to found Oakland University. Since 1971, Meadow Brook Hall has been open as a museum, conference space, and cultural center. For many years the home hosted one of the largest car shows in the world. In more recent times, Antiques Roadshow was filmed here, as well as a number of music videos. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/meadow-brook-hall

[a-person-who-is-not-you]

At the knole house reading vita and Virginia letters top ten dyke moments