Knole, Sevenoaks

Postmarked Sevenoaks, Kent, and dated 16 July 1920.
Printed and published by J. Salmon, Sevenoaks, England
from an original water colour drawing by A. R. Quinton
1344


Knole was first enclosed as a park in 1456 and is one of the few deer parks to have survived the last 500 years although there used to be approximately 700 of them, covering as much as 2% of England.  The park has changed very little since medieval times, apart from the great storm in 1987 when 70% of the trees were damaged.  Nearby Sevenoaks lost six of its seven oaks at the same time.  However the 1000 acres of Knole have been replanted, keeping as closely as possible to the original design.

The building dates from 1456 but was built on the site of an earlier house dating as far back as 1281. Later it became a Royal Tudor residence and later still a Jacobean country house.  After it left royal ownership, it became the home of the Sackville family.  It was used as a set in the film "The Other Boleyn Girl".

The deer are Sika and Fallow deer and are allowed to roam freely among the trees.  They keep the grass down, and in the autumn eat natural foods such as acorns and beech nuts.  At other times they need supplementary feeding.  The park has been designated a Site of Special Scientific interest, in part because of the nationally rare beetles feeding on the dung of the deer.

AR Quinton  (1853 – 1934) painted many water colours of British villages and landscapes and they were often published as postcards by Joseph Salmon.  The association between Salmon's Postcards and Quinton lasted until the artist's death.  Unusually in my collection where the card is used merely as a piece of writing paper, this card does make reference to the subject matter.:

"It is a lovely place here, just going around the park on this card."

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