One of the Knole Gardens designs

Design project for Sackville-West family who live at Knole, Sevenoaks

Final year honours students have the chance to shine when they reveal their garden designs for the park at Knole, Sevenoaks.

The University of Greenwich garden design students have the chance to stage an exhibition of design, conservation and management ideas for the park and garden at the national landmark.

They undertook the work as a Historic Garden Conservation project on behalf of the Sackville-West family, who live in the house.

Marian Boswall, lecturer in Garden Design at Greenwich, said: “The aim of the students’ proposals is to inspire all those involved with Knole to think about the conservation of the garden and park in a variety of creative ways.

“These are theoretical ideas for Lord Sackville and the National Trust to enjoy, employ, or ignore as they wish.

“Drawings and models by the garden design students will show individual conservation, management and design ideas. Group projects will explain and illustrate the history, geography and social life of the park and garden.”

The exhibition features the students’ conservation plans, and more excitingly actual scale models of their work.

They looked at planting and management within the garden and park, and at some areas owned by the National Trust and open to visitors, such as the Brewhouse Tearoom courtyard, Green Court, and even the car park.

Knole has been owned by the National Trust since 1946. Its 1,000-acre park is 90 per cent owned and managed by the Sackville-West family, and 10 per cent by the National Trust.

Knole was built by the Archbishops of Canterbury in the 15th century and annexed by Henry VIII and remodelled in the 17th century by the Sackville family.

They said it is one of the country’s most important and most complete historic houses, containing collections of unique upholstered furniture, silver, paintings and tapestries.

Designs for the Park & Garden at Knole will be held at the 200-year-old Orangery, which was opened to the public in 2010. It’s on the south side of the house, looking on to Lord Sackville’s private garden, and starts on 3 March.