Begun in 1456 by Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, this grand house surrounded by a vast park became the property of the Sackvilles. With its seven courtyards (one for each day of the week), 52 staircase (weeks of the year) and 365 rooms (days of the year), Vita Sackville-West compared it to a "medieval village". Horace Walpole spoke of its "magnificent and modest simplicity".