Meet the team

Since September 2019, Carol Cheeseman combines leading the Oral History team with her many other volunteer roles at Knole, including tour guiding, archaeology, business support and training. Carol's research into the 20th century lives of Knole Estate staff continues to inform how we share Knole stories with our visitors, staff and volunteers.

As Knole's House & Collections Manager since April 2019, Sam Bailey looks after our Oral History team, giving both motivation and fiscal support to our efforts.

Angela Prior-Wandesforde joined the Oral History team in 2016. A lover of all things historical and research projects in particular, she is enjoying delving into Knole's more recent history and discovering more about the wonderful staff.

After retiring from Knole's Visitor Centre, providing a warm welcome, information and visitor services, Mary started volunteering in the Business Support Office in 2017. In 2018, she also joined the Knole Oral History team as a verbatim transcriber, combining her love of reading, history and continuing interest in all things Knole-related.

Mollie Barden works full-time on the Knole Visitor Centre team. As a recent history graduate, Mollie volunteers her spare time to help with verbatim transcribing and enjoys learning more about our interviewees' many and varied connections to Knole.

Retired journalist and teacher, Veronica Walker-Smith joined the Oral History team from its inception in 2011. She enjoys interviewing and editing this website. From 2015, she also coordinated the team and Knole's annual submissions to the British Library's National Sound Archive.

Knole's House & Collections Manager up to April 2018, Helen Fawbert was the driving force behind starting the HLF-funded Oral History project in 2011. She led the setting up of the Estate Office 'Hidden Histories' exhibition, and her particular interest in the stories of everyday life of the house from the early to mid-20th century, motivated and inspired us all.

House & Collections Manager from mid-2018 to early 2019, Lucy Atkinson also managed the Knole Oral History team in a busier-than-normal year that included re-instating and re-presenting the Knole showrooms to meet the deadline of March 2019.

Marcia Barton has done almost everything at Knole over the past 30 years. Since 2011 she has also interviewed and researched for the oral history team, contributing her wealth of experience, research skills and knowledge of Knole's history. In 2019, she retired from volunteering at Knole and is much missed!

Jonathan Sargant oversaw most aspects of the project up to March 2015. As Community Engagement Officer at Knole for more than 7 years, he was instrumental in launching this Knolestories website, charming interviewees and volunteers alike and sharing his enthusiasm for social history and cake.

And other contributors…

Will Johnson is our stalwart researcher, particularly keen on genealogy, as well as contributing to archival and digital indexing and meticulous verbatim transcribing.

Retired from the team:

Louise Bishop, recently graduated with a degree in history, helped us with verbatim transcribing.

Louise Carmichael enjoyed verbatim transcribing and was equally adept at scanning and indexing 20th century photographs from albums kindly shared with us by our interviewees. She also archived the recipes of Lord Lionel Sackville’s personal housekeeper.

Lucile Corby, prior to retiring in 2012, interviewed and researched for us, and was also one of Knole’s longest-serving room stewards. Geoff Dawber, retired bank manager, joined the oral history team in 2013 and enjoyed interviewing with Joy Wyman for a while before he moved to Cornwall. Joy retired from the project in 2014. Steven Dedman retired in 2015 as General Manager for the National Trust at Knole. He and his wife Liz have each carried out an interview in the early days of the oral history project in 2011.

Daphne Eatwell used to work in market research, and has put her interviewing talents to good use since the start of our oral history project in 2011, before retiring in mid-2015.

We thank Rosemary Milton-Thompson for giving us several research leads into mid-20th century Knole Estate and National Trust staff.

Sara Martin did much of the transcribing of the first batch of 2011-2012 interviews on a university placement. She thoroughly enjoyed listening to the memories you can hear on this site, and hopes you do too.

Christine Nevard, MBE, is an experienced Knole volunteer and guide. She joined the Oral History team when it started in 2011, interviewing and transcribing for 5 years, before taking a break to become Master of the Cripplegate Ward Club in London in 2016.

Before retiring from the British Library, Elaine Pordes worked in manuscript enquiries. She enjoyed historical places and transcribing Knole’s oral history interviews gave her insights into Knole’s social history and its curatorial challenges. Elaine retired from transcribing in 2018.

Laurence Pordes  also joined the team on retiring from the British Library. He’s helped with high quality photography of the 1st Earl of Dorset’s lead rainwater hoppers in the Knole courtyards, as well as research into Knole’s cricketing links.

Nicky Stitchman interviewed and carried out research for the project when she was not guiding at Penshurst Place and organising the occasional murder mystery holiday.

Also of great help to Knole’s oral history in the early days of the project:

Christine Dixon, Debbie Innes, Julia Kiggell, Clare Thake, Roger Wall, and Pamela Ward.