The laboratory in the lorry

Met up with friends today for a walk through Knole Park Estate . After coffee on the newly built terrace overlooking the chimneys of Knole House (see extra) we visited the Knole Conservation Studio. This is housed in a medieval barn that took two years and £ 2.5millon to tranform. Visitors can now watch conservators working on objects from the house's collection. Today two students were applying gold leaf to an enormous gilt frame. The original Knole sofa, dating from around 1640, sat in a corner looking very dilapidated. It was placed in the lift to descend to the ground floor, along with other priceless pieces of furniture and taken round the back of the courtyard where the big white lorry was waiting. Apparently this inconspicuous vehicle is a mobile woodworm treatment unit.

Knole House and 52 acres of the park are owned by the National Trust and half the house and the remaining gardens and estate are home to the Sackville-Wests. It was once the home of Vita Sackville-West who would have inherited it had she been a man!

Originally built in 1456 with later extensions, it is known as a calendar house with allegedly 365 rooms, 52 staircases, 12 entrances and 7 courtyards.

If you are visiting kent, this beautiful country house in sevenoaks is well worth a visit, And everything we visited today was free. (The main house only is ticketed).