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Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House. Photo by Rprof. Wikimedia

Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, England, located 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) north-east of Bakewell and 9 miles (14 kilometers) west of Chesterfield.

The Duke of Devonshire’s seat, it has been in the Cavendish family since 1549. It is located on the east bank of the Derwent River, across from hills between the Derwent and Wye valleys, and is surrounded by parkland and wooded hills that rise to heather moorland.

The house holds major collections include paintings, furniture, Old Master drawings, neoclassical sculptures, and books. It has been named Britain’s favorite country house several times, and is a Grade I listed property from the 18th century that was altered in the 19th. 

It underwent a £14-million restoration in 2011–2012. The Chatsworth House Trust, an independent charitable foundation on behalf of the Cavendish family, owns the property. 

1. Chatsworth House has a stable block

Stable block. Photo by Daderot.

The Chatsworth stable block stands out on the rising ground to the north-east of the house. The stables originally housed 80 horses.

The last horses left the stables in 1939, when the structure was converted into a store and garage. When the house reopened after the war, “catering” consisted of an outdoor tap that has since been renamed “water for dogs.” With a £120 investment, a tea bar was established in 1975. The first café attempt was made in 1979.

It sat 90 people in some old horse stalls in the stables and was unsatisfactory to customers. In 1987, the Duke and Duchess’ private chef, took over. Following a failed attempt to obtain planning permission for a new building incorporating the park’s old ice house, a 250-seat restaurant was built in the carriage house.

The Cavendish Rooms, which also serves refreshments, a shop, and three rooms for hire are among the other amenities. During the visitor season, the stables can accommodate 30,000 people monthly.

2. Chatsworth House has 126 rooms

Chatsworth has 126 rooms, nearly 100 of which are not open to the public. The house has been thoughtfully designed to allow the family to live privately in their apartments while the house is open to the public.

Rooms on the ground and first floors of the south front, all three floors of the west front, and the upper two floors of the north front are occupied by the family. They can move around without crossing the public route thanks to staircases in the north-east corner of the main block and a turret in the east front.

3. Chatsworth House has state apartments

Chatsworth house. Photo by Ian Parkes. Wikimedia

When King William III and Queen Mary II were expected to visit, the 1st Duke built a lavishly appointed Baroque suite of state rooms across the south front.

The Great Chamber is the largest room in the State Apartments, followed by the State Drawing Room, the Second Drawing Room, the State Bedroom, and finally the State Closet, each more private and ornate than the one before it.

4. Chatsworth House has a gatehouse at the North wing

The 6th Duke built a gatehouse with three gates at this end of the house. The central, the largest gate, led to the North Entrance, then to the main house entrance. Visitors now enter through this door.

The north gate led to the service courtyard, while the matching south gate led to the original front door in the west front, which had been demoted to secondary status during the Duke’s reign but is now the family’s private entrance once more.

5. Chatsworth House houses The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire

The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire live at Chatsworth House. It has been passed down through sixteen generations of the Cavendish family in North Derbyshire, England.

6. Chatsworth House was a girls public school in 1939

The 10th Duke arranged for Chatsworth to be occupied by Penrhos College, a girls’ public school. The contents were packed away in 11 days. 300 girls and their mistresses moved in for a six-year stay in September 1939. The entire mansion was utilized.

Fungus grew behind some pictures due to condensation from the sleeping girls’ breath. The house wasn’t very comfortable for so many people, with a lack of hot water, but there were some perks, like skating on the Canal Pond. As a contribution to the war effort, the girls grew vegetables in the garden.

7. The cascade at Chatsworth House

Cascade, Chatsworth House. Photo by Christine Matthews.

The Cascade and Cascade House, a series of stone steps with fountains at the top. It was built in 1696 and then rebuilt in 1701. At the top, Thomas Archer designed a grand baroque Temple or Cascade House in 1703.

Both required 10,000 man-hours of work for major restoration in 1994-1996. The Cascade was named England’s best water feature in 2004 by a panel of 45 garden experts selected by Country Life.

It has 24 cut steps. Each slightly different and with a variety of textures. When water runs over and down, it makes a different sound. 

8. The gardens at Chatsworth House are vast

The Gardens, Chatsworth House. Phptp by Andrew Abbott.

The garden receives approximately 300,000 visitors per year. The gardens are vast. One could spend an entire day just admiring them. There are about 20 full-time gardeners.

The majority of the garden’s main features were created over the course of five major development phases. Some of the garden’s highlight include: 

• Canal Pond – The long rectangular lake to the south of the house is an artificial lake.
• The Seahorse Fountain.
• The Willow Tree Fountain. It’s a toy tree that squirts water from its branches.
• The First Duke’s Greenhouse – Located next to the main lawn and surrounded by a rose garden.
• Flora’s Temple – This temple houses a Caius Gabriel Cibber statue of the goddess Flora.

9. Chatsworth House has featured in films

Chatsworth has appeared in a number of films, television shows, and documentaries. Pride and Prejudice, The Duchess, The Wolfman and certain scenes in the BBC gangster series Peaky Blinders are just some examples.

10. Chatsworth House is called Britain’s favorite country house

Chatsworth house. Photo by Michael Beckwith.

The Painted Hall is the first room one sees while entering Chatsworth House. It’s an unusual grand hall because it’s square, has a wrap-around balcony, and a circular overlooking balcony on each corner. Louis Laguerre completed the murals in the Painted Hall in 1694.