Knebworth House is an

English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

in the parish of

Knebworth Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

, England. It is a

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. Its gardens are also listed

on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. In its surrounding park is the medieval St. Mary's Church and the Lytton family mausoleum. It was the seat of the

Earl of Lytton Earl of Lytton, in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for the diplomat and poet Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Baron Lytton. He was Viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880 and British Ambassa ...

(also Viscount Knebworth), and now the house of the family of the

Baron Cobbold Baron Cobbold, of Knebworth in the County of Hertford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1960 for the banker Cameron Cobbold. He was Governor of the Bank of England from 1949 to 1961. The 2nd Baron succeeded ...

of Knebworth. The grounds are home to the Knebworth Festival, a recurring open-air rock and pop concert held since 1974, and until 2014 was home to another hard rock festival, Sonisphere.

History

Mausoleum at Knebworth House Herts - geograph

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 A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

, built round a central court as an open square. 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. Knebworth's most famous resident was

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secre ...

(1803-1873), the Victorian author, dramatist and statesman, who embellished the gardens in a formal Italianate fashion. The 1st Baron's great-grandson Neville (1879-1951) married Judith Blunt, a well known horse breeder who inherited

Crabbet Arabian Stud The Crabbet Arabian Stud, also known as the Crabbet Park Stud, was an English horse breeding farm that ran from 1878 to 1972. Its founder owners, husband and wife team Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt, decided while travelling in the Mi ...

in 1917 and devoted her life to it. In 1913-1914 the house was leased for £3,000 per year by

Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (russian: Михаи́л Алекса́ндрович, r=Mikhail Aleksandrovich; 13 June 1918) was the youngest son and fifth child of Emperor Alexander III of Russia and youngest brother of Nicholas ...

and his

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

wife Natalia Brasova. Much of the interior of Knebworth House was redesigned by Sir Edwin Lutyens, who married Lady Emily Bulwer-Lytton (1874-1964) - he simplified the main

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

. Lady Emily was the daughter of the 1st Earl of Lytton, who served as

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

between 1876 and 1880. A herb garden, with an interlaced

quincunx A quincunx () is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a square or rectangle and a fifth at its center. The same pattern has other names, including "in saltire" or "in cross" in heraldry (d ...

design, was drawn by

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrot ...

in 1907, although not planted until 1982. The grounds are also open to the public. Henry Lytton-Cobbold lives at the house with his family. After a career in the film industry in Los Angeles, he lets production companies film on location in the house and gardens. The grounds include tourist attractions such as an adventure playground and dinosaur park and host various events including

classic car A classic car is an older car, typically 25 years or older, though definitions vary.While other languages, such as German and Dutch, may refer to classic cars as "oldtimers", this usage is unknown in English, where "old-timer" refers to an elder ...

rallies.

Music festival

Beginning in 1974, a recurring open-air rock and pop concert known as the Knebworth Festival has been held in the grounds. The festival first occurred in July 1974 when

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

and other artists played to an audience of 60,000 people. Over the years the festival has featured the likes of

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

(their 1986 concert at the venue their last with

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Originally formed as ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and per ...

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

and

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...

. The last festival to date was in June 2022.

Media

Films and television

Productions that have been filmed at Knebworth include: * ''

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning " resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the mo ...

'' (1956) - palace of the Empress * ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' - "The Sanctuary" (1959) * ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on IT ...

'' - "The Night People" (1967) * '' The Avengers'' - "Invasion of the Earthmen" (1967/68) * '' Decline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher'' (1968) * '' Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' - " Somebody Just Walked Over My Grave" (1969) * '' Carry On Henry'' - Exterior shots (1970) * '' The Persuaders!'' - opening credits (1970/71) * '' The Adventurer'' - "Action!" (1972) * ''

Horror Hospital ''Horror Hospital'' (also known as ''Computer Killers'') is a 1973 British science-fiction comedy-horror film directed by Antony Balch and starring Robin Askwith, Michael Gough, Dennis Price and Skip Martin. Plot When attempts to break into th ...

'' (1973) * ''

Keep It Up Downstairs ''Keep It Up Downstairs'' is a 1976 British period sex comedy film, directed by Robert Young and starring Diana Dors, Jack Wild and William Rushton. Alternative titles for the film include ''Can You Keep It Up Downstairs?'' and ''My Favorite ...

'' (1976) - filmed entirely on location as the fictitious 'Cockshute Towers' * '' The Big Sleep'' (1978) - General Sternwood's country mansion * ''

The Great Muppet Caper ''The Great Muppet Caper'' is a 1981 British-American musical heist comedy film directed by Jim Henson (in his feature directorial debut). It is the second theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. In addition to the Muppet performers, the ...

'' (1981) - exterior of the Mallory Gallery * '' Sir Henry at Rawlinson End'' (1980) - interior and exterior * '' The Shooting Party'' (1985) - filmed entirely on location * '' Haunted Honeymoon'' (1986) - exterior of the home * ''

Porterhouse Blue ''Porterhouse Blue'' is a novel written by Tom Sharpe, first published in 1974. A satirical look at Cambridge life and the struggle between tradition and reform, ''Porterhouse Blue'' tells the story of Skullion, the Head Porter of Porterhouse, ...

'' (1987) - interior and exterior of the home of Sir Cathcart D'Eath * '' ''The Lair of the White Worm'''' (1988) - exterior of the D'Ampton mansion * ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

'' (1989) - exterior and some interior scenes of Bruce Wayne's manor * ''

A Bit of Fry & Laurie ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, broadcast on both BBC1 and BBC2 between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series an ...

'' - Season Four, Episode 6 ("The Duke of Northhampton") (1995) - sketch * ''

The Canterville Ghost "The Canterville Ghost" is a humorous short story by Oscar Wilde. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in two parts in '' The Court and Society Review'', 23 February and 2 March 1887. The story is about an American fa ...

'' (1996) *''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

'' (1997) - Thornfield Hall * ''

Sacred Flesh ''Sacred Flesh'' is a 1999 British nunsploitation horror film. It is set in an indeterminate past, and consists of a series of loosely connected vignettes that depict pseudo-lesbian sexuality and some sado-masochistic activity. Plot Sister Eli ...

'' (1999) - exterior scenes of the convent *''

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a 1997 fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a youn ...

'' (2001) - the house was used in several pieces of promotional material for the film, and hosted the film's international launch, though no parts of the house were used in shooting of the film itself * '' Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London'' (2004) - some scenes in and around the grounds * ''

Foyle's War ''Foyle's War'' is a British detective drama television series set during and shortly after the Second World War, created by ''Midsomer Murders'' screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by ITV after the long-running series ...

Series 3 Episode 2 ("Enemy Fire") '' (2004) - as the fictional Digby Manor * '' St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold'' (2009) - used as the St. Trinian's all girl school * ''

Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the titular character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician while also solvi ...

'' - provided the location of ''Metropolis'' (2008 Christmas Special) * ''

The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...

'' (2010) - Balmoral Party and other scenes * ''

Agatha Christie's Marple ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV television programme loosely based on the books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first ...

'' (2010) - significant interior and exterior scenes, including in Season 1, Episode 3, "4.50 from Paddington," with Knebworth House and estate standing in for the fictional Rutherford Hall * '' The Hour'' (2011) - Lord Elms residence * '' The Scapegoat'' (2012) - significant interior and exterior scenes * ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'' ''Series 15 Episode 1 ("The Dark Rider")'' - significant exterior scenes * ''

Woman Like Me "Woman Like Me" is a song by British girl group Little Mix featuring rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on 12 October 2018, by Syco Music, as the lead single from the group's fifth studio album '' LM5''. The song was co written by Jess Glynne, ...

'' (2018 music video) -

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British v ...

* '' Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'' (2020) - exterior shots of Alexander Lemtov's British house * Meerkat Music Presents: Little Mix Uncancelled (2020 Virtual Concert) * '' The Nevers'' (Season 1 Episodes 3 and 4) (2021-) - exterior scenes * '' Knebworth 1996'' - Oasis: Knebworth 1996 (2021) - Concert Documentary surrounding Oasis' record-breaking 1996 concerts at Knebworth Park. Also released as a live album.

Radio

Local radio station BOB FM broadcasts from Knebworth's former pump house, which used to provide water to the main house.

Notes

External links

Knebworth House website

Flickr Knebworth House Photo Group

Cobbold Family History

Knebworth House on IMDb
{{Coord, 51.8728, -0.2148, type:landmark_region:GB-HRT, display=title Gardens in Hertfordshire Gothic Revival architecture in Hertfordshire Country houses in Hertfordshire Herb gardens Historic house museums in Hertfordshire Grade II* listed buildings in Hertfordshire Lytton family Grade II* listed houses Wrestling venues Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Hertfordshire Works of Edwin Lutyens in England

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...