Although my great-great-great-grandfather, the 19th Century author Edward Bulwer Lytton is not much read nowadays, his influence is still to be found in popular culture. A great example of this is the spectacular immersive exhibition that has been at the Excel Centre in London this winter (until 15th March). The exhibition is named after his 1834 novel, “The Last Days of Pompeii”, and pays tribute to him in its displays. Travelling back on the Tube towards Finsbury Park, I was chuffed when my train stopped in a station where the exhibition’s giant poster – with the big headline “The Last Days of Pompeii” – was directly opposite me on the station wall in 2026.
Extraordinary then, that when my train stopped at the next Tube station, the poster directly opposite me was a giant colour photograph of Edward Bulwer Lytton’s home. The house he transformed into a High Gothic fantasy castle is the background to the poster for the new fantasy movie “100 Nights of Hero”, which filmed here last year… Then things started getting spooky. At the very next station – again, right in front of me, out the Tube window – was another image of Edward Bulwer Lytton’s home! This time in a giant poster for the Iron Maiden concert in Knebworth Park on July 11th. Edward Bulwer Lytton may be a dead, forgotten author, but he’s all over London this season!
So do the fashionable thing, and come see Edward Bulwer Lytton’s home for yourself this Parish Open Day, Sunday 22nd March. Your invite is a copy of this magazine – bring it to the gate at St Mary’s. Celebrate with us as we kick off Knebworth House’s 2026 Open Season, still making our mark after all these centuries!
Henry Lytton Cobbold
@HenryCobboldKH
@HenryCobbold