The smells of Knole House

A selection of historic smells associated with Knole House are being studied as case studies during this project, which is developed in partnership with The National Trust. These include historic objects from the property’s collection such as leather gloves, wax polishes, historic pot-pourri and more contemporary objects such as music records. We share the updates of the ongoing research with visitors to Knole House’s Conservation Studio.

St Paul’s Cathedral’s library

The appreciation for the smell of this library is evident in the notes left in the visitor’s book: ‘Amazing place! I can inhale the knowledge’ (09/03/15); ‘We can smell the history, the fragrance of heritage and our communion with souls of the past’ (04/11/15); ‘City guide trainees we all loved the smell and beautiful library’ (11/02/15). The smell is now documented and reproduction will soon be attempted.