Knole House

One of England’s largest houses, Knole has been home to archbishops, royalty, and the Sackville family for over 400 years. Its labyrinthine corridors and 365 rooms harbor numerous ghosts from its complex past.

The Grey Lady

The most frequently seen apparition:

• A woman in grey Tudor or Stuart dress
• Walks the Brown Gallery
• Identity uncertain, possibly Lady Anne Sackville
• Brings intense cold
• Appears distressed or searching
• Most active on winter evenings

The Ghostly Housekeeper

A phantom servant in Victorian dress:

• Carrying a candle
• Walking the back corridors
• Checking rooms as if on evening rounds
• Heard more often than seen
• Keys jangling at her waist
• Disappears when directly confronted

Vita Sackville-West’s Presence

The famous writer and gardener (1892-1962):

• Her connection to Knole was deep but tragic
• She couldn’t inherit due to being female
• Some report her presence in rooms she loved
• Particularly in the library and writing rooms
• A scholarly, melancholic atmosphere
• The scent of paper and ink

Though she lived mostly at Sissinghurst, her spiritual connection to Knole, which she called “the one thing I love more than anything,” may draw her back.

The White Lady

Distinct from the Grey Lady:

• Seen in the King’s Room
• Elizabethan-era dress
• Believed to be connected to royal visits
• Appears on moonlit nights
• Looking from windows
• May be connected to a tragic romance

Archbishop Morton’s Ghost

Thomas Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury, lived here (1486-1500):

• A tall figure in ecclesiastical robes
• Seen in the older, medieval sections
• Walking cloisters and corridors
• Muttering Latin prayers
• Most active in areas he built or modified

The Phantom Child

A young boy seen and heard:

• Playing in corridors
• Laughing and running
• Dressed in Stuart-era clothing
• Appears briefly then vanishes
• May be one of the many Sackville children who died young

The Haunted Galleries

Knole’s famous galleries experience significant activity:

• Brown Gallery: Grey Lady’s primary haunt, footsteps, cold spots
• Cartoon Gallery: Shadowy figures, sense of being watched
• Leicester Gallery: Unexplained sounds, objects moved

Additional Phenomena

Throughout this massive house:

• Doors opening and closing
• Footsteps in empty corridors
• Voices and conversations with no source
• Objects mysteriously relocated
• Cold spots throughout
• An overwhelming sense of history

Historical Layers

Knole’s ghosts reflect its complex past:

• Medieval archiepiscopal palace (1456)
• Royal ownership under Henry VIII
• Sackville family from 1603
• Connection to literary figures (Virginia Woolf visited)
• Centuries of births, deaths, and dramas

The National Trust now manages Knole, and staff members regularly report paranormal experiences. The house’s sheer size and age have created what some paranormal investigators describe as a “layered haunting” - multiple time periods existing simultaneously.

Visitors occasionally report their own encounters, particularly in the more atmospheric older sections far from the main tour routes.