Wednesday, May 12, 2010

'Knole'

'Knole', originally the Herman Duryea and later the Bradley Martin estate designed by Carrere & Hastings c. 1903 in Old Westbury. Martin was married to Helen Phipps, one of the 5 Phipps children to reside in Old Westbury. The estate remained in Martin family hands until a decade ago when the house was sold and the property subdivided. Click HERE to see 'Knole' on google earth and HERE to see it on Bing. Click HERE for more on 'Knole'.




Click below to see 'Knole' intact with the surrounding area still undeveloped in a 1966 aerial shot. Pictures from American Homes & Gardens, 1910.

18 comments:

Karena said...

Oh my, I will go and read more on this estate....fascinating and great images!

Karena

Art by Karena

charles said...

I have always been fascinated by this estate. I would love to know who bought it! Zach- Thank you for giving me someting so interesting to look forward to each morning!

The Down East Dilettante said...

such a complex and interesting building---and marvelous to see pics of its original condition

Anonymous said...

And floor plans! Fascinating

Glimmerglass said...

The property has been turned over more recently then just a decade ago. The Knole was in cited in the coffee table book, "Welcome Aboard: A History of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty."

Per that book, The Knole, featured also in Al Pacino’s "The Devil’s Advocate," was listed and sold in 2004 and then again in 2007.

The 2004 sale, for example, was concluded at $11 million (as noted in Newsday 2/18/2004) with the property on 32 acres.

Zach L. said...

The sale in 2004 was the result of the death of Esmond Martin, Bradley and Helen Martin's son (he was rather old at the time).

James said...

Reversal of Fortune,the story of Sonny von Bulow,starring Jeremy Irons and Glen Close was shot there also

Turner Pack Rats said...

a truly eclectic house - looks like a penitentiary from the front but redeems itself at the back. too bad the water feature has been depooled but at least the gardens and that loooong drive with the gates still exist.

security word def - "prearai" - before a certain italian car mfg.

Anonymous said...

WOW! What a house, too bad the floor plans are so small and not clear, I'd love to "walk" the house. I hope nothing ever happens to this place. It's amazing. 11 million is a little out of my price range, even with a second mortgage on my trailer! LOL

Kenneth said...

As James noted above, it was used as the von Bulow house in Reversal of Fortune. A side note-the actual von Bulow house in Newport, RI is currently for sale. It's called Clarendon Court. It's worth Googling; it's a small scale house for Newport but anyone who enjoys this blog will appreciate it.

Anonymous said...

Zach, you are close. There were other issues why this was sold.... But what a great house as my grandfather grew up here. Thank you for the great info and pictures you show...
Ryan Martin

Zach L. said...

Ryan, I assume it's a safe guess that your grandfather was Esmond or Alastair?

Would love to talk sometime, you can email me at oldlongisland@gmail.com if you ever have any interest. Thanks!

Titanic Bill said...

Although the subdivision of the surrounding grounds is sad, I can't helf but be swept away by that incredible new tudor mansion going up on the property. The architectural detail is so exquisitely crafted that it looks as if the house has been there since 1900. does anyone know who the archited is and the family that is building it?

Vincent Calabrese said...

I worked for Mr. Esmond Martin in 1964-65, I was 18 years old. Back then there was an orchid business that Mr. Martin had for a hobby were I worked. It had extensive green house complex which utilized the original barn. The barn was from the estate when it was completely self sufficient back in the old days. I use to work in and around the "BIG" house as it was referred too back then, from time to time. Having been been that close and seen the back stairs areas was an experience I will never forget.
One day when I was moving some ornate mirrors that Mr. Martin was considering selling to antique dealer, I noticed, what turned out to be a large model tug boat behind a chair almost hidden from view. Mr.Martin came into the room and surprised me, and asked me if I liked the boat, I, of course, said yes. He immediately, to my surprised, said that I could have it, it's yours, his exact words. Later,a few days later, when I was in one of the green houses, he told me that it was a remote controlled and had the control box and came back and gave it to me. I got the boat working and told him so, he then invited me up to the Big house so we could run it in the pool. We had lunch at the pool, he had a great time running the boat, as I suspect it brought back good childhood memories. I still have the boat. I hope you enjoyed this, its the truth.

Zach L. said...

Thanks for sharing Vincent...that's a really great story.

Kell. said...

Wow ...I was always curious about this beautiful place we sometimes spoke about,,, I took care of the woman that ran it ,,, she was a nice woman ..

Kell. said...

Wow , I always wondered about this beautiful place..,, I took great care of the woman that ran it.. she was a very nice woman .. , had a lot of fun With her. Learned a lot...

Unknown said...

My grandfather worked there 40 years tending to orchids in the greenhouses on the estate.
Desmond Bradley Martin, had a love for cultivating various types of orchids.
As a child I recall walking through those greenhouses and the aroma of the soil and flowers.
A gift to my grandfather on Easter was numerous spreads of orchids.
Gracing our table at Easter dinner.
I remember the individual orchids in those glass "test tubes".
Fond memories of Knole.