SOLD OUT, Lecture, Robert Sackville-West, The Private Life of a Public Place

SOLD OUT

The Private Life of a Public Place: 400 Years of the Sackvilles at Knole

This lecture is given in conjunction with The Royal Oak Foundation

Knole, an English country house in Kent, England, is remarkable not only for its history and contents, but also for the continued presence of the Sackville family, who have lived at the estate since 1604. Reputedly a calendar house, having 365 rooms, 52 staircases, 12 entrances and 7 courtyards, Knole’s public state rooms contain a rare collection of 17th century royal Stuart furniture, outstanding tapestries and textiles, portraits by Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Sir Peter Lely, and Joshua Reynolds, and a copy of the Raphael Cartoons, among other treasures. In his illustrated lecture, Robert Sackville-West, the 7th Baron Sackville, will explore the continuous relationship of Knole and his family, who lived there for 400 years: a family described by the writer Vita Sackville West (who was born at Knole and wrote about her beloved childhood home) as “a race too prodigal, too amorous, too weak, too indolent and too melancholy; in short, a rotten lot, and nearly all stark staring mad.”

After studying History at Oxford University in 1985, Robert Sackville-West founded Toucan Books, which creates illustrated non-fiction books for an international market. In 2008, Lord Sackville and his wife and three children moved into the house which has been inhabited continuously by 13 generations of the Sackville family for 400 years.

To Reserve: This event is for members only and there is a $20 fee. Reservations are required but will not be accepted until March 12. Please call the Athenæum’s event reservation line, 617-720- 7600.

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