A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details A HOUSE ‘RE-EDIFIED’ – THOMAS SACKVILLE AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF KNOLE 1605-1608 Edward Town Thesis submitted for the degree of DPhil at the University of Sussex September 2010 ii Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be submitted in whole or in part to this or any other University for the award of any other degree. Edward Town iii Contents iii Acknowledgements v Summary vi List of Abbreviations vii Introduction 1 Part One - A Life in Seven Degrees Chapter One: Education and Early Career 1535/6-1571 10 Early Education 13 Oxford and the Inner Temple 15 Gorboduc and the Revels of 1561-2 19 An Entertainment at Sackville House 22 The Departure for Italy 25 Sackville’s Time in Italy and Rome 27 The Return Journey – Netherlands and France 31 Cardinal Châtillon and Sackville’s fortunes at Court 35 The French Embassy of 1571 37 St Denis and Paris 41 The Embassy of Paul de Foix to England, 1571 44 Chapter Two: The Courtier, County Magnate and Lord Treasurer 1572-1608 49 Sackville and the Wealden Iron Industry 51 Sackville’s ownership of Knole 1569-1574 and the motivations for the acquisition 53 The Dispute 57 Lord’s Place, Lewes 67 The Mission to the Netherlands in 1587 and its aftermath 71 Sackville’s Finances 75 Expenditure 82 Dedications and Literary Patronage 87 The evidence of Sackville’s Library 89 Conclusions 95 iv Part Two - The Transformation of Knole Chapter Three: Motivations Thomas Sackville and the attempted acquisition of Otford 97 The Projects for the Royal Palaces of Eltham and Ampthill 102 Sackville, John Thorpe and the plans for Buckhurst House, Sussex 109 Sackville and the choice of Knole 113 The Acquisition of Knole, 1604 118 Chapter Four: Thomas Sackville’s building programme at Knole 122 The evidence of previous ownership 123 The Lennard Tenancy of Knole 1574-1604 130 The Lennard Household 134 Thomas Sackville’s building programme at Knole 1605-1608 137 The Exterior façades as a record of Sackville’s Work 144 Chapter Five: Designers and Craftsmen at Knole 147 ‘The Surveyor of Works’: Simon Basil at Hatfield and Salisbury House 150 A Stronger Case: The Role of John Thorpe 152 Thomas Marshall, Auditor and Surveyor 155 The provision of materials (I) Andrew Kerwin 156 The Provision of Materials (II) William Portington 160 Mathew Banks, Carpenter 162 Thomas Holmden, Chief of Works at Knole 164 Secretaries and Stewards 168 Chapter Six: The role of Thomas Sackville The internal fittings of Knole 1605-8 (I) Fireplaces 177 The Cure Workshop and Knole 182 The Role of Thomas Sackville – The case of the Great Stair 187 The internal fittings of Knole 1605-8 (II) Decorative Plasterwork 198 ‘…manie other pleasureable delights’ – The Gardens at Knole 200 The internal fittings of Knole 1605-8 (III) Painting and Joinery 203 Furnishings and Pictures at Knole 1605-1645 208 Thomas Sackville’s Picture Collection 214 The Brown Gallery Portraits 215 Conclusions 220 Conclusion 222 Bibliography 226 List of Illustrations 239 v Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following without whom this thesis would not have been possible. My supervisor, Maurice Howard for his constant guidance and encouragement throughout the last three years. The AHRC for funding a project which at all times has been both fulfilling and enjoyable. The National Trust for their support in welcoming me not only into the house, but also into the organisation as a whole, which ensured that my experience was far richer than I could ever have imagined. The National Trust also provided a second supervisor, Emma Slocombe, who did everything to ensure that both Alden Gregory and I had all of the support that we needed to carry out our research. When Emma left on maternity leave during the second year, we were fortunate to have Wendy Monkhouse as her replacement, whose energy, expertise, and enthusiasm provided a further impetus to the project. Over the course of the last three years the National Trust has undertaken a number of archaeological projects at our suggestion. The dendrochronological survey of the roof timbers at Knole that was financed and supported by the Trust provided Alden and I with information that could not have been gleaned by any other means, and has proved a huge help in forwarding our understanding of the house. Helen Fawbert, Steven Dedman and Martin Stiles and the rest of the National Trust staff at Knole have at all times been generous with both their time and their support, and always have made me feel welcome at the house that they care for so diligently. Likewise, Lord Sackville and his family have been incredibly generous in allowing me to explore their wonderful home. Bridget Sackville-West, Lord Sackville’s mother, has also been extremely supportive, warm and generous in offering both her hospitality and her expert knowledge of the house and its collections. During this project a number of scholars have been kind enough to give up their time to visit the house and to discuss their ideas with me – Nicholas Cooper, Caroline Thackray, Cyril Haysom, Christopher Rowell, Kathryn Morrison, Paula Henderson, Emily Cole, Alastair Laing, Philip Dixon, Julian Munby, Jeremy Musson, John Newman, Christopher Whittick, Jeremy Wood, Lucy Whitaker, Claire Tilbury, Adam White, David Adshead, Richard Simpson, Linda Hall, Lee Prosser, Jane Spooner, Helen Wyld, Karen Hearn, Susan Bracken, Glenn Adamson, Mark Purcell and Spike Sweeting are to name just a few. Special mention has to go to Rivkah Zim, who has been extremely supportive towards my research, offering both her thoughts and references on the life and career of Thomas Sackville, and for this I owe her a great deal of gratitude. Likewise, Claire Gapper has been equally generous with her time and expertise and has done much to help me, and has been instrumental in providing me the opportunity to test some of my ideas by giving papers at the Institute of Historical Research and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Special thanks also have to go to my friends, and in particular Charlotte Bolland and Olivia Fryman who have both provided consistent support as we all worked towards our own theses, but above all I owe a great deal of gratitude to Alden Gregory, who has been an amazing companion throughout the last three years, and a very true friend. Finally, I must thank my parents, whose support has been immeasurable. vi UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX EDWARD TOWN THESIS FOR DEGREE OF DPHIL ‘A HOUSE RE-EDIFIED’ – THOMAS SACKVILLE AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF KNOLE 1605-1608 Summary Thomas Sackville was a courtier and a politician during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Shortly prior to his death in April 1608, Sackville began work on his largest architectural project, the transformation of the archbishops’ great- house at Knole, near Sevenoaks in Kent. The house holds a seminal position in the landscape of country houses of the period, and as Sackville’s only surviving house, is an important monument to his ambitions as patron. However, Sackville’s significance as a patron has often been underplayed, in the same way that his position as a leading politician and a minister of state has often been seen as only a brief interlude between the hegemony of William and Robert Cecil – Sackville’s predecessor and successor as Lord Treasurer respectively. The research of this thesis focuses on Sackville’s transformation of his house at Knole, highlighting the fact that during his political apogee, Sackville was a leading patron of his day, who employed the finest artisans, craftsmen and artificers available to him. In the historiography of English architectural history, Knole is often sidelined, and seen as the last moment of Elizabethan building practice before the innovations of the Jacobean period. This not only underplays the complexity of the building’s development, but also detracts from what Thomas Sackville aimed to achieve during his campaign of building at Knole between 1605 and 1608. New evidence has afforded a fuller insight into Thomas Sackville’s role as patron and also the extent to which his numerous intellectual and cultural interests were brought to bear on the transformation of the house. This evidence suggests that what Sackville achieved at Knole was a remarkable synthesis of what was inherited from the existing fabric and what was newly built, and the product of this synthesis was a house that reflected both Sackville’s intellectual and political ambitions. vii Abbreviations APC Acts of the Privy Council BdlL Bodleian Library BL British Library CKS Centre for Kentish Studies CSP Calendar of State Papers CPR Calendar of Patent Rolls ERO Essex Record Office ESRO East Sussex Record Office FRO Flintshire Record Office GML Guildhall Manuscript Library HHA Hatfield House Archive HKW History of Kings Works HMSO His Majesty’s Stationery Office HOP History of Parliament LH Longleat House LMA London Metropolitan Archive LPL Lambeth Palace Library L&P Letters and Papers ODNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography TNA The National Archive SA Society of Antiquaries SHR Surrey History Centre WSRO West Sussex Record Office 1 Introduction Viewed from the garden on the south side of the house, the first impression of Knole near Sevenoaks in Kent, is that it is a house all of a piece, with a central range with a seven-arched loggia flanked by two symmetrical towers (fig.