Summary

A Victorian Tudor Gothic country house in Hertfordshire with one of the longest filming records of any British private estate, including Batman (1989, Wayne Manor exterior), The King’s Speech (2010), and Match Point (2005), alongside a major rock concert history.

About this location

Knebworth House is a Tudor Gothic country house in Knebworth parish, Hertfordshire, home of the Lytton family since 1490. The present building is largely the result of a Victorian transformation in 1843–45, which gave the original brick manor house a dramatic Tudor Gothic exterior with towers, turrets, and domed pavilions. Sir Edwin Lutyens, who married into the Lytton family, redesigned several interiors and simplified the formal gardens. The house remains the seat of Baron Cobbold of Knebworth.

The have hosted the Knebworth Festival, one of Britain’s longest-running outdoor rock concerts, since 1974, with headline acts including Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Queen (their final concert with Freddie Mercury, 1986), Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Oasis, and Liam Gallagher. This concert infrastructure has made the park an experienced host of very large productions.

The film and television record runs to over thirty productions. Key credits include: Batman (1989, exterior and some interior scenes of Wayne Manor); The Shooting Party (1985, filmed entirely on location); The Great Muppet Caper (1981, exterior of the Mallory Gallery); Jane Eyre (1997, Thornfield Hall); The Mummy Returns (2001); Match Point (2005, Woody Allen); The Queen (2006); The King’s Speech (2010, Balmoral scenes); St Trinian’s 2 (2009); Jonathan Creek Christmas Special (2008); The Hour (BBC, 2011); and The Scapegoat (2012). Earlier television includes The Avengers (1967/68), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969), and Lovejoy (1991). The current Baron Cobbold manages film enquiries directly.