Page 232 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2023 DISCOVERING TURKEY

This 19-bedroom home, built in 1585 and set
on a 1900-acre estate, is everything you could
wish for in a stately home. Not one, but two
suits of armor greet us in the wood-paneled
Great Hall, with its checkerboard marble
floor, oak-beam ceiling, and stone fireplace.
There are tapestries, crystal chandeliers, his-
toric family portraits, even a chair from the
coronation of George V. Yet it all feels friendly
and comfortable, thanks to a recent refresh
overseen by Fenella Fox-Pitt, who worked as a
fashion designer before settling into family
life with her husband, Andrew Fox-Pitt, at
Knowlton Court, his ancestral home.
The grounds are as spectacular as the house,
with vast lawns bordered by hedges shaped
like an eclectic collection of creatures, from
the proud peacock to the humble…yes, that’s a
snail, which you can just make out if you
squint. Beyond lie fields of wheat, sun-dap-
pled woodlands, and paddocks, where we en-
counter several racehorses---including the
headline-grabbing Snow Leopardess---which
Andrew’s mother, Marietta, breeds. (A love of
horses runs through the family. Andrew’s
brother, William Fox-Pitt, is an Olympic
medal-winning equestrian, and he is featured
on dozens of framed magazine covers on the
walls of Knowlton Court).
Although none of the Fox-Pitts inhabit
Knowlton Court currently, Andrew and Fenella
live elsewhere on the estate and are happy to
greet guests personally. They accompany my
friends and I for a vineyard tour and tasting at
nearby Simpsons Wine—whose sparkling rosé
I particularly recommend--and join us at
Knowlton Court for cocktails and an excellent
dinner catered by Stella Grove.

Top right: The Great Hall at Knowlton Court.
Right & Top: Knowlton Court, Andrew and
Fenella Fox-Pitt at Knowlton Court,
Andrew's ancestral home.
Left: The Drawing Room at Knowlton Court
Left center: A light and airy bedroom at
Knowlton Court.

232 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2023