Knowlton Court is a Grade I listed manor house near Goodnestone,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England that dates back to the

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

period. The present front façade in the Queen Anne style, was added in 1715.

Early history

The Knowlton estate is recorded in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

'', during which time it belonged to Bishop

Odo of Bayeux Odo of Bayeux (died 1097) was a Norman nobleman who was a bishop of Bayeux in Normandy and was made Earl of Kent in England following the Norman Conquest. He was the maternal half-brother of duke, and later king, William the Conqueror, and w ...

, the half-brother of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

."Knowlton Court Wedding Venue"
''Knowltoncourt.co.uk'', accessed 3 November 2021

Elizabethan and Stuart period

The Knowlton estate was inherited in 1544 by John Peyton, MP. The present house was originally built in 1585 in red brick for his son Sir Thomas Peyton. He was succeeded in turn in 1611 by his only son Samuel, who became a baronet. During the late 17th century, Knowlton Court was home to the Royalist lieutenant-general Sir Thomas Peyton, 2nd Baronet, born in 1613. He was MP for

Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

from 1640 to 1644, removed from Parliament after a spell in prison in 1643 and charged with, among other things, being a "malignant"."The Love Letters of Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple, 1652-54"
''Fullbooks.com'', accessed 3 November 2021 After heading a failed Royalist rising in Kent in May 1648, Sir Thomas was taken prisoner near

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

and committed to the Tower – and Knowlton Court was ransacked. He regained his status after the Restoration and became an MP in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

from 1661 to 1679, representing

. Sir Thomas, his wives, and Knowlton Court are mentioned in the published love letters of

Dorothy Osborne Dorothy Osborne, Lady Temple (1627–1695) was an English writer of Letter (message), letters and wife of Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet. Life Osborne was born at Chicksands Priory, Bedfordshire, England, the youngest of twelve children of Pet ...

Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet (25 April 162827 January 1699) was an English diplomat, politician and writer. An important diplomat, he was recalled in 1679, and for a brief period was a leading advisor to Charles II of England, with whom he th ...

(1652 to 1654). After his death in 1684 in straightened financial circumstances, Sir Thomas' four daughters sold the Knowlton estate to Admiral Sir John Narborough.

18th century

Knowlton Court estate remained the property of Admiral Sir John Narborough during the late 17th century. After Narborough had died at sea, leaving a widow and two sons, his wife married Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, who also died at sea, along with his two Narborough stepsons, in the

Scilly naval disaster of 1707 The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707. Between 1,400 and 2,000 sailors lost their lives aboard the wrecked vessels, making the incident ...

. His flagship, HMS ''Association'', and three other ships were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000 sailors. Shovell's stepsons, Sir John Narborough, 1st Baronet, and his brother James, are commemorated in Knowlton Church."Nowlton"
''Hellfirecorner.co.uk'', accessed 3 November 2021

19th century to the present

The estate passed to the D'Aeth family in 1707, including Sir Thomas D'Aeth. The D’Aeth family owned it until 1904 when it was bought by Major Francis Elmer Speed (28 February 1859 – 23 August 1928). He was High Sheriff of Kent and had two sons, John and Douglas. Knowlton Court is privately owned but the main house is hired out for weddings and other events. The estate includes a number of other buildings including the Grade II listed Elizabethan

dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish estate (house), estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house fr ...

and a gatehouse designed by Edwin Landseer Lutyens in 1912.Exploring Kent's Past GOODNESTONE KNOWLTON TR 25 SE 3/66 Knowlton Court
''webapps.kent.gov.uk'', accessed 3 November 2021

References

{{coord, 51.2334, 1.2661, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Kent Grade I listed houses in Kent