Places Features

For the past 500 years, Knebworth House has been home to the Lytton family. BBC Three Counties Radio presenter Toby Friedner went to meet the current owner, Henry Lytton Cobbold.

How did Knebworth become a music venue in the first place?

Henry: Well it was my parents who started the Knebworth concerts back in 1974. They were approached by a promoter who told them he wanted to do a medieval event then finally confessed it was Led Zeppelin he was talking about! He had noticed that we had this amazing bowl shaped field and direct access to the motorway so we were a perfect site…  there's no other single field venue that can take 125,000 people.

Henry and Martha Lytton-Cobbold and Khan

It's probably easier to say who hasn't performed at Knebworth isn't it?

Henry: We've had Led Zep, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Queen.  In fact for some of those artists its been the most important part of their careers... it was Freddie's last concert with Queen in '86, when Oasis played in '96 it was considered to be the pinnacle of their career. As Robbie said there's nowhere to go after here because we are the largest venue in the country…. We are the venue you play when you want to prove you’re at the top of your game if you have the Christmas number one with your greatest hits album you need to be playing Knebworth the following summer!

Do the artists stay at the house?

Henry: They used to! The Rolling Stones stayed in 1976 but nowadays they helicopter in and out and stay in posh hotels. I was 14 (when the Stones played) and we have little mementos of that. We have a pair of very smart red underpants left at the bottom of Mick Jagger's bed which are now in the safe. We had a wonderful tea cup with Ella Fitzgerald's lip print on it from when she played in the '80s. Rather unfortunately though that got put in the dishwasher!

Wasn't there an interesting moment with Noel Gallagher and your Dad?

Henry: Noel and Liam decided it would be fun to camp here between the two nights they played. But after one night,  Noel wanted to have a bath… My father showed him to the Queen Elizabeth bathroom which has a wonderful four poster bath. Since it was a special night for them my father brought him a bottle of Champagne. Noel mentioned in subsequent interviews that the butler brought him Champagne in the bath when it was, in fact, my father.

The Robbie Williams Concert in 2003

What's been the pinnacle moment for you throughout your years of doing concerts?

Henry: I think it was the last night of Robbie Williams. The first night he was slightly nervous. The second he was slicker because it was TV night,  but the third night he was completely relaxed and it was just the most fantastic concert.  He was on top form and there were 125,000 people absolutely loving it. To see all those people jumping in the air at the same time is really something quite special.

What's the next big concert then?

We need to wait until the music industry produces the next Robbie Williams or Oasis. The Foo Fighters is a possibility obviously they're staggering it. You don't want to rush straight to Knebworth, you want to do Wembley first. But yes I think that's very likely at some point so fingers crossed.