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

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England that dates back to the Elizabethan 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

'', during which time it belonged to Bishop Odo of Bayeux, the half-brother of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

."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 food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

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 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. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

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 a British writer of letters and wife of Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet. Life Osborne was born at Chicksands Priory, Bedfordshire, England, the youngest of twelve children of Sir Peter Osborne, Lie ...

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

(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 Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November 1650 – 22 or 23 October 1707) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and then at the Battle of Texel during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. ...

, 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 (February 28, 1859 - August 23, 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 or Welsh estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house from the larger family ...

and a gatehouse designed by

Edwin Landseer Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memori ...

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