The Knole: History & Heritage

Hidden within Knole Road in Boscombe stands The Knole, one of Bournemouth’s most remarkable Victorian houses. This Grade II listed building has been a gentleman’s residence, a place of worship and education, a wartime refuge, a private hotel and, since 1957, the home of Bournemouth Freemasonry.

A Visionary Beginning

The Knole was created in 1872–73 by Edmund Christy, a wealthy philanthropist from the famous hat- and towel-making family.

Christy commissioned the noted Arts-and-Crafts architect John Dando Sedding, with local builder John Toogood, to design and construct a residence of the very highest standard.

In fact, John Sedding and John Toogood received two commissions from Edmund Christy as they also designed and built St. Clements Church further along Knole Road that was largely funded by Christy. He provided some £30,000 for the land, the design, construction and completion of St.Clements in addition to building simultaneously his own house at The Knole.

He even paid for the Vicar for whom he provided an income of £283 per annum. The project also included a Vicarage, St. Clements School with a schoolhouse for the Master and a pair of cottages for the Curates although the source of the funding of these items is uncertain. Furthermore, for his own house at The Knole, no expense was spared in the design or decoration.

Rooms of Distinction

The house retains much of its Victorian and Edwardian character

The South Drawing Room, now the Main Dining Room, was remodelled and panelled in oak by the Freemasons in 1956 and today displays the honour boards of the many Lodges that meet here.

The Small Dining Room still reflects its 1903 appearance, complete with original chimney-piece, sideboard and oak panelling.

The Robing Room, once the North Drawing Room, also keeps its early-1900s look, including the original fireplace and elegant Masonic candelabra.

Upstairs, the Meeting Room is the heart of Masonic activity.

Here the Worshipful Master presides from the East, with the Senior Warden in the West and the Junior Warden in the South. The Secretary and Treasurer sit opposite the Junior Warden, while in the centre stands the handsome set of Tracing Boards, dating from the early 1900s and crafted locally by William Stagg of Bournemouth.

This room was the South Drawing Room which was completely re-modelled and enlarged during conversion to use as the Main Dining Room by the Freemasons in 1956. Today the room is oak panelled with the Honour Boards of the various Masonic groups which meet in the building.

As you leave the Main Dining Room , the door facing you leads into the Small Dining Room which still retains much of its 1903 appearance. Note the original chimneypiece , the sideboard and the oak panelling.

The Vision of St Hubert

Visitors entering The Knole pass a striking carved stone plaque depicting the Legend of St Hubert, the patron saint of furriers and trappers. The legend tells of a noble hunter who, in a vision confronted by a stag bearing a crucifix between its antlers, abandoned worldly pursuits to follow a holy life.

According to tradition, in AD 682 Hubert, the eldest son of the Duke of Aquitaine in what is now north-west France, was an avid hunter who often neglected church to pursue the chase. One Good Friday, as he followed a stag through the forest, the animal turned to face him and a radiant crucifix appeared between its antlers. A voice warned, “Hubert, unless you turn to the Lord and lead a holy life, you shall soon descend into Hell.”

Not long after this vision Hubert’s wife died. Struck by grief and the memory of the miraculous encounter, he abandoned his titles and wealth, entered the priesthood and dedicated his life to faith. By about AD 708 he had become Bishop of Maastricht and later Bishop of Liège, where he is revered as the founder of that city. His dramatic conversion and lifelong love of the hunt led the Catholic Church to recognise him as the patron saint of hunters, furriers and trappers.

For Edmund Christy, whose family fortune was built on fur used in hat-making, St Hubert held special meaning. In commissioning the stone plaque for his new home, Christy paid homage to the saint who, in his eyes, safeguarded the natural resource on which the family business depended and symbolised the ideals of moral renewal and stewardship.

Christy eventually left Bournemouth around 1880 and spent his later years at Adcote in Shropshire, where he died in 1902 aged seventy-five.
The St Hubert plaque remains above the doorway of The Knole, a lasting testament both to the house’s Victorian founder and to a legend of faith and transformation that has inspired visitors for centuries.

The Croft Era

Arms of the Croft family above the original Main Entrance overlooking Knole Gardens

Following the departure of Edmund Christy, the house was leased to a number of distinguished people until it was sold to a Mrs. Richard Page Croft who bequeathed it to her son Sir Henry Page Croft, the first MP for Bournemouth from1910. In the second World War, he served as Under-Secretary of State for War between 1940 and 1945 and was elevated to the Peerage in 1940 when he became 1st. Baron Croft of Bournemouth. He died in 1947 and is buried at Croft Castle in Shropshire.

Croft family on steps of The Knole

During the Second World war, The Knole was used as a Red Cross nursery for young children evacuated from Portsmouth and London. With the death of Lord Croft, The Knole was sold, much of the 51/2 acres of garden developed with housing whilst the house itself became The Knole Private Hotel until it was sold to the Freemasons of Bournemouth in 1957.