Knebworth House, home of The Cobbold Family History Trust, has been home to the Lytton family since 1490, but the Cobbold lion has flown from its mast since Lady Hermione Bulwer Lytton, married to Cameron Cobbold, later 1st Baron Cobbold, inherited the house from her father Victor, 2nd Earl of Lytton, in 1947.  Lord Cobbold was Governor of the Bank of England from 1949 to 1961, and Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth II from 1963 to 1971.

The Lytton family, like the Cobbold family, has been involved in all walks of public life, but particularly in literature and politics.  Edward Bulwer Lytton, the 14th generation to live at Knebworth House, was the best-selling author in the English language in the 1830s, before being overtaken by his friend Charles Dickens.  Edward’s son, Robert Bulwer Lytton, was a popular poet and prominent British diplomat, holding the post of Viceroy of India from 1875 to 1880, for which Queen Victoria made him the 1st Earl of Lytton.  

Current custodians of Knebworth House are the 19th generation of the Lytton family and the 3rd generation of the Cobbold family, Martha and Henry Lytton Cobbold, now 3rd Baron Cobbold, who manage the House and Country Park as a heritage leisure destination, open to the public from the end of March to the end of September on weekends and school holidays.  Knebworth House is also a popular film location and Knebworth Park internationally renowned for over 50 years of record-breaking rock concerts from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd, Oasis and Robbie Williams.