Knebworth House – A History
The home of the Lytton family since 1490, when Thomas Bourchier sold the reversion of the manor to Sir Robert Lytton, Knebworth House was originally a red-brick Late Gothic manor house, built round a central court as an open square.
The panelled banqueting hall off the main entrance is by John Webb, the best-known pupil of Inigo Jones. In 1813-16 the house was reduced to its west wing, which was remodelled in a Tudor Gothic style by John Biagio Rebecca for Mrs Bulwer-Lytton, and then was transformed in 1843-45 by Henry Edward Kendall Jr into the present Tudor Gothic structure.
A third storey added to the E, entrance front in 1878 by John Lee. The interiors were styled by JG Grace. Servants’ wing added at same time by George Devey, this demolished and replaced in 1950.
Sir Edwin Lutyens, married Lady Emily Bulwer-Lytton (1874-1964) in 1897 at Knebworth. She was the daughter of The 1st Earl of Lytton, who served as Viceroy of India between 1876 and 1880. From 1907, Lutyens alterations included the library, the banqueting hall, drawing room and some bedrooms. Lutyens also simplified the main parterre. A herb garden, with an interlaced quincunx design, was drawn by Gertrude Jekyll in 1907, although not planted until 1982. (Description by Paul Waite)
Knebworth House – A Summer Luncheon
Sunday 1 September, 10am for 10:30am-4pm
Knebworth House, Old Knebworth, Hertfordshire, SG1 2AX
Following the success of our inaugural summer luncheon at New Place in 2023, the event’s committee is pleased to announced that the venue on this, our 40th anniversary, will be Knebworth House. Our thanks to Lord Lytton-Cobbold for his invitation.
Members and their guests are invited to join us for lunch in the Barn at Knebworth.
Tickets are £70 per person. This includes a guided-tour of this 15th century house, to which Lutyens remodelled the library, the banqueting hall, drawing room and some bedrooms; a 2-course lunch, 1/2 bottle of wine pp, and tea/coffee to finish.
Members are welcome to bring guests at an increased rate of £75, which includes a £5 day membership fee.
Online bookings
Please make your booking online through PayPal using your credit / debit card or PayPal account.
Manual Bookings
If you wish to pay with a cheque, please use the online booking facility above, and then choose the “pay by cheque” option on the payments screen. This will reserve you a ticket(s) and give you instructions on where to send your cheque to. All cheques should be made payable to “The Lutyens Trust” and made to the sum of £70 or £75 (please add £3.00 per cheque, this is the charge banks make to us for banking cheques).
Directions
by Car
Knebworth House & Park are accessed direct from the Junction 7 roundabout of the A1(M) motorway at Stevenage South, 29 miles north of London. There are signs on both carriageways of the motorway. There is plenty of free parking for cars and coaches.
If you are using a Sat Nav system use the post code SG1 2AX.
Public Transport
The nearest rail station is Stevenage, two miles from Knebworth Park. There is a taxi rank at the station. Non-stop intercity and local services run to Stevenage station from London King’s Cross station around every 30 minutes.
There are also frequent intercity connections on the East Coast main line and buses run into Knebworth Village.
