- Knebworth House
Knebworth House is a
country house in the civil parish ofKnebworth inHertfordshire ,England .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 genuine red-brick Late Gothic
manor house , built round a central court as an open square. In 1813-16 the house was reduced to its west wing, [ [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43588 'Parishes: Knebworth', "A History of the County of Hertford": volume 3 (1912), pp. 111-18.] Date accessed: 27 August 2007] .] which was remodelled in a Tudor Gothic style by John Biagio Rebecca for Mrs Bulwer-Lytton, [Howard Colvin , "A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840", 3rd ed. (Yale University Press) 1995, "s.v." "John Biagio Rebecca".] and then was transformed in 1843-45 by Henry Edward Kendall, Jr. into the present Tudor Gothic structure. [Howard Colvin , "A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840", 3rd ed. (Yale University Press) 1995, "s.v." "Henry Edward Kendall", note.] Its most famous resident wasEdward Bulwer-Lytton , the Victorian author, dramatist and statesman, who embellished the gardens in a formal Italianate fashion. Much of the interior was redesigned bySir Edwin Lutyens , who simplified the mainparterre . Aherb garden in an interlaced quincunx design was drawn byGertrude Jekyll in 1907 but not planted until 1982.The current residents are
Henry Lytton-Cobbold and his family.The house is open to the public together with its surrounding gardens and grounds. The grounds include an adventure playground, mini railway and dinosaur park and host various events including classic car rallies and, since 1974, major open air rock and pop concerts.
Local radio stationHertbeat FM broadcasts from the oldpump house , which provided water for the house. A deep well is buried beneath the breakfast show presenter's swivel chairFact|date=December 2007.Numerous films have been shot at Knebworth, including:
*"The Great Muppet Caper " - exterior of the Mallory Gallery
*"Batman" (1989) - exterior scenes of Bruce Wayne's manor
*"Agent Cody Banks 2 " - some scenes in and around the grounds
*"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" - Yule Ball Staircase SceneNotes
External links
* [http://www.knebworthhouse.com/ Knebworth House website]
* [http://www.flickr.com/groups/knebworthhouse/ Flickr Knebworth House Photo Group]
* [http://www.cobboldfht.com Cobbold Family History]
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