“The most perfect way of lighting this new library would be by electric light, now being used outside the Gaiety Theatre in the Strand and which will probably supersede gas entirely for large spaces and buildings.”
John Lee, architect, to Robert Lytton, 5th September 1878
132,410 people visited the Park and Gardens this summer, 20,000 up on last year – a good result which puts us somewhere in the middle of the “1st Division” of Historic Houses. In the 1970s – the last time we could claim a place in the “Premiership”! – Knebworth Park was attracting over 200,000 people every summer (not including our, then annual, rock concerts) but those were the heady days before Sunday shopping. It’s an encouraging result, particularly as Hertfordshire is still the only county in the East of England with no tourism budget and no tourism officer.
He won’t mind me saying, but he must be almost as old as Scrooge by now – actor Colin Greenslade returns to the Banqueting Hall on 16th/17th/18th December for a remarkable seventh year to perform his fireside adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”. The entertainment begins with a glass of Dickens’ own-recipe punch and a mince pie, and includes traditional Christmas carols sung by local choirs. Tickets are £17 and available from Christine Smith on 01438 810931 or via a booking form on the events page of our website at www.knebworthhouse.com.
Merry Christmas, one and all!
Henry Lytton Cobbold
www.knebworthhouse.com