94-460: The Emperor Fountain is a 19th-century fountain in the grounds of Chatsworth House , Derbyshire , England. The Canal Pond in which the fountain stands is 283 metres (928 ft) long and 30 metres (98 ft) wide. The fountain and pairs of surrounding sculptures has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building . In 1843 Tsar Nicholas I of Russia informed the Duke that he
188-442: A rustic basement. The façade is dramatic and sculptural with ionic pilasters and a heavy entablature and balustrade . The existing heavy and angular stone stairs from the first floor down to the garden are a 19th-century replacement of an elegant curved double staircase. The east front is the quietest of the four on the main block. Like the south front it is unusual in having an even number of bays and no centrepiece. The emphasis
282-624: A Grade I listed property from the 17th century, altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 2011–2012 it underwent a £14-million restoration. The owner is the Chatsworth House Trust, an independent charitable foundation formed in 1981, on behalf of the Cavendish family. The name 'Chatsworth' is a corruption of Chetel's-worth , meaning "the Court of Chetel". In the reign of Edward the Confessor ,
376-458: A convincing trompe-l'œil of a violin and bow "hanging" on a silver knob, painted about 1723 by Jan van der Vaart . About the time Queen Victoria decided that Hampton Court , with state apartments in the same style, was uninhabitable, the 6th Duke wrote that he was tempted to demolish the State Apartments to make way for new bedrooms. However, sensitive to his family heritage, he left
470-529: A girls' public school in Colwyn Bay , Wales. The contents were packed away in 11 days, and in September 1939, 300 girls and their mistresses moved in for a six-year stay. The whole house was used, including the state rooms, which were turned into dormitories. Condensation from the breath of the sleeping girls caused fungus to grow behind some of the pictures. The house was not very comfortable for so many people, with
564-535: A history of the Cavendish family's two main estates. It was praised by Charles Dickens. In 1888, the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Chatsworth, California , was named after the estate. Social change and taxes in the early 20th century began to affect the Devonshires' lifestyle. When the 8th Duke died in 1908 over £500,000 of death duties became due. This was a small charge compared with that of 42 years later, but
658-499: A large central courtyard. The main entrance was on the west front, which was embellished with four towers or turrets, and the great hall in the medieval tradition was on the east side of the courtyard, where the Painted Hall remains the focus of the house to this day. The south and east fronts were rebuilt to the designs of William Talman and completed by 1696 for William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire . The 1st Duke's Chatsworth
752-643: A large estate, until the 15th century when it was acquired by the Leche family who owned property nearby. They enclosed the first park at Chatsworth and built a house on the high ground in what is now the south-eastern part of the garden. In 1549 they sold all their property in the area to Sir William Cavendish , Treasurer of the King's Chamber and the husband of Bess of Hardwick , who had persuaded him to sell his property in Suffolk and settle in her native county. Bess began to build
846-405: A large staff for its comforts, and lacked modern facilities. The building was rewired, the plumbing and heating were overhauled, and six self-contained staff flats created to replace the small staff bedrooms and communal servants' hall. Including those in the staff flats, 17 bathrooms were added to the existing handful. The 6th Duke's cavernous kitchen was abandoned and a new one was created closer to
940-656: A man of Norse origin named Chetel held lands jointly with a Saxon named Leotnoth in three townships: Ednesoure to the west of the Derwent, and Langoleie and Chetesuorde to the east. Chetel was deposed after the Norman Conquest , and in the Domesday Book of 1086 the Manor of Chetesuorde is listed as the property of the Crown in the custody of William de Peverel. Chatsworth ceased to be
1034-434: A neoclassical service wing for his kitchens that was a forerunner of the 6th Duke's north wing. William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire , had some of the family's private rooms redecorated and some partition walls moved, but there are few traces of the mid and late 18th century in the public rooms. The 6th Duke modified much of Chatsworth to meet 19th-century standards of comfort, suiting a less formal lifestyle than that of
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#17330861336551128-478: A plane crash in 1948. His younger brother Andrew became the 11th Duke in 1950. He was married to Deborah Mitford , one of the Mitford girls , sister to Nancy Mitford , Diana Mitford , Pamela Mitford , Unity Mitford and Jessica Mitford . The modern history of Chatsworth begins in 1950. The family had yet to move back after the war. Although the 10th Duke had transferred his assets to his son during his lifetime in
1222-467: A sculpture gallery, the new north wing housed an orangery, a theatre, a Turkish bath, a dairy, a vast new kitchen and numerous servants rooms. In 1830 the Duke increased the guest accommodation by converting suites of rooms into individual guest bedrooms. People invited to stay at Chatsworth spent their days hunting, riding, reading and playing billiards. In the evening formal dinners would take place, followed by music, charades and billiards or conversation in
1316-651: A servant, Ralph Barber, on a shopping trip to Rouen in 1575. Barber bought wine, vinegar, damask and diaper linen for napkins, silk, canvas, caged live quails, and sugar confitures, which he delivered to the earl in London. Queen Elizabeth had imposed the responsible task of guarding Mary on Shrewsbury, and did not allow him to resign the charge for over 15 years. For this and other reasons (such as disputes over property distribution) his marriage with Bess of Hardwick, while initially successful, became rocky, and began to deteriorate around 1583, as detailed by surviving letters between
1410-513: A shortage of hot water, but there were compensations, such as skating on the Canal Pond. The girls grew vegetables in the garden as a contribution to the war effort. In May 1944 Kathleen Kennedy , sister of John F. Kennedy , married William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington , elder son of the 10th Duke of Devonshire . However, he was killed in action in Belgium in September 1944 and Kathleen died in
1504-411: Is placed on the end bays, each highlighted by double pairs of pilasters, of which the inner pairs project outwards. The west and north fronts may have been the work of Thomas Archer , possibly in collaboration with the Duke himself. The west front has nine wide bays with a central pediment supported by four columns and pilasters to the other bays. Due to the slope of the site, this front is taller than
1598-512: Is represented on the House Trust's Council of Management, but most of the directors are not family members. The Duke pays a market rent for use of his private apartments in the house. The cost of running the house and grounds is about £4 million a year. Film of Chatsworth in 1945 is held by the Cinema Museum in London. Ref HM0365. The 11th Duke died in 2004 and was succeeded by his son,
1692-730: Is the largest in the State Apartments, followed by the State Drawing Room, the Second Withdrawing Room, the State Bedroom and finally the State Closet, each room being more private and ornate than the last. The Great Chamber has a painted ceiling of a classical scene by Antonio Verrio . The Second Withdrawing Room was renamed the State Music Room when the 6th Duke brought the violin door from Devonshire House in London. It has
1786-553: Is worsened by the non-standard spelling of the time. It is accepted that Shrewsbury suffered from rheumatism (" gout ") in his hand; indeed, Shrewsbury himself once referred to his pen-hand as "my evil favoured writing". George Talbot is a primary character in the historical fiction novels The Captive Queen of Scots by Jean Plaidy and The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory . He is also a recurring character in Friedrich Schiller 's play Mary Stuart (as Lord Shrewsbury) and in
1880-507: The Cavendish family since 1549. It stands on the east bank of the River Derwent , across from hills between the Derwent and Wye valleys, amid parkland backed by wooded hills that rise to heather moorland . The house holds major collections of paintings, furniture, Old Master drawings, neoclassical sculptures and books. Chosen several times as Britain's favourite country house, it is
1974-675: The Earldom of Shrewsbury , the Barony of Furnivall and the position of Justice in Eyre , which had been his father's. He also took over his father's position of Chamberlain of the Exchequer . One year later, he was created a Knight of the Garter . Shrewsbury was selected as the keeper of Mary, Queen of Scots , who was imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I in 1568 after she had escaped to England from Scotland following
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#17330861336552068-634: The Huntington Library in California. Tens of thousands of acres of land in Somerset , Sussex and Derbyshire were also sold during or just after the First World War. In December 1904, King Charles I of Portugal and Queen Maria Amélia stayed at Chatsworth House during their visit to Britain. It snowed almost constantly while they were there and the King reportedly started a snowball fight , in which
2162-586: The Inland Revenue , interest being due in the meantime. The Chatsworth Estate is now managed by the Trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement, established in 1946. The 10th Duke was pessimistic about the future of houses like Chatsworth and made no plans to move back in after the war. After Penrhos College left in 1945, the only people who slept in the house were two housemaids, but over the winter of 1948–1949
2256-558: The Ridolfi plot ). Finally, in 1572, Lord Shrewsbury was appointed Earl Marshal , a position that he held (along with the aforementioned position of Justice in Eyre) until his death in 1590. After the conviction of Mary for her role in the Babington Plot , Shrewsbury participated in her trial and was one of the official witnesses to her execution at Fotheringhay Castle on 8 February 1587. Upon
2350-521: The University of Glasgow 's collection and have been digitized by them online. Despite the wealth of surviving written material Shrewsbury's handwriting is notorious among scholars for its illegibility. For example, an 1875 article in the Sheffield Independent Press declared his handwriting "the despair of all transcribers" (a view still held by scholars and paleographers to this day), which
2444-426: The 19th century, new accommodation was built on these three sides on all three levels. The only surviving baroque façade is that on the eastern side, where five bays of the original seven remain, and are largely as built. There are carved trophies by Samuel Watson , a Derbyshire craftsman who did much work at Chatsworth in stone, marble and wood. The 1st and 6th Dukes both inherited an old house and tried to adapt to
2538-502: The 19th century, when William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire , and the architect Jeffry Wyatville , built the North Wing, doubling the size of the house. Most of the wing has only two storeys, as opposed to the three of the main block. It is attached to the north-east corner of the house and around 400 feet (120 m) long. At the end of the North Wing is the North, or Belvedere, Tower. The work
2632-508: The 1st Duke in 1694 for helping to put William of Orange on the English throne, was an advanced Whig . He was forced to retire to Chatsworth during the reign of King James II . This called for rebuilding the house, which began in 1687. Cavendish aimed initially to reconstruct only the south wing with the State Apartments and so decided to retain the Elizabethan courtyard plan, although its layout
2726-473: The 1st Duke's time. The corridors round the courtyard were enclosed and given a multicoloured marble floor, so that rooms could be easily reached from indoors, and there were more shared living rooms to replace individual guest apartments. The cook's bedroom and the back stairs made way for the Oak Stairs, topped by a glass dome and built at the north end of the Painted Hall to improve internal communications. Along
2820-410: The 4th Duke married Lady Charlotte Boyle , the sole surviving heiress of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington . Lord Burlington was an accomplished architect in his own right with many works to his name including Chiswick House . With his death, his important collection of architectural drawings and Inigo Jones masque designs, Old Master paintings and William Kent-designed furniture were transferred to
2914-493: The Dome Room. The first room beyond is a dining room, with a music gallery in the serving lobby where the musicians played. Next is the sculpture gallery, the largest room in the house, and then the orangery. The Belvedere Tower contains a plunge bath, using marble from the 1st Duke's bathroom, and a ballroom that was later turned into a theatre by the 8th Duke. Above the theatre is the belvedere itself, an open viewing platform below
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3008-459: The Duke decided to retain his family's home if he could. He sold tens of thousands of acres of land, transferred Hardwick Hall to the National Trust in lieu of tax, and sold some major works of art from Chatsworth. The family's Sussex house, Compton Place was lent to a school. The effect of the death duties was mitigated to an extent by the historically low value of art in the post-war years and
3102-605: The Dukes of Devonshire. This inheritance also brought many estates to the family. In 1774, William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire , married Georgiana Spencer famous as a socialite who gathered around her a large circle of literary and political friends. Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds would paint her; the Gainsborough painting would be disposed of by the 5th Duke and be recovered much later, after many vicissitudes. The film The Duchess portrayed their life together. Georgiana
3196-658: The Elizabethan house was outdated and unsafe. The famed political philosopher Thomas Hobbes spent the last four or five years of his life at Chatsworth Hall, then owned by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire . He had been a friend of the family for nearly 70 years, having taken a job tutoring the 2nd Earl shortly after graduating from St John's College, Cambridge in 1608. Hobbes died at another Cavendish family estate, Hardwick Hall , in December 1679. After his death, many of Hobbes' manuscripts were found at Chatsworth House. William Cavendish, 4th Earl of Devonshire, who became
3290-635: The apartment now known as the Queen of Scots rooms, on the top floor above the great hall, which faces onto the inner courtyard. An accomplished needlewoman , Bess joined Mary at Chatsworth for extended periods in 1569, 1570, and 1571, during which time they worked together on the Oxburgh Hangings . Bess died in 1608 and Chatsworth was passed to her eldest son, Henry . The estate was purchased from Henry by his brother William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire , for £10,000. Few changes were made at Chatsworth until
3384-660: The assembled ladies joined enthusiastically, when he met the Marquis of Soveral , the Portuguese Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St James's . In 1920 the family's London mansion, Devonshire House , which occupied a 3-acre (1.2 ha) site in Piccadilly , was sold to developers and demolished. Much of its contents went to Chatsworth and a much smaller house at 2 Carlton Gardens near The Mall
3478-438: The baths at Buxton , to Chatsworth, or to the old Hardwick Hall, she remained under Shrewsbury's guardianship for the next fourteen years. During the winter of 1571–72 the earl was in London, the queen during his absence being left in charge of Sir Ralph Sadler. Meanwhile, in 1571, Lord Shrewsbury was appointed Lord High Steward (the premier Great Office of State ) for the trial of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (regarding
3572-427: The celebrated Palladian villa in the suburbs of West London that the Devonshires inherited when the 4th Duke married Lord Burlington 's daughter – was sold in 1929 for £80,000 to Middlesex County Council and Brentford and Chiswick Urban District Council . Nonetheless, life at Chatsworth continued much as before. The household was run by a comptroller and domestic staff were still available, although more so in
3666-576: The chapel. George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot , KG , Earl Marshal (c. 1522/1528 – 18 November 1590) was an English magnate and military commander. He also held the subsidiary titles of 15th Baron Strange of Blackmere and 11th Baron Furnivall . He was best known for his tenure as keeper of Mary, Queen of Scots between 1568 and 1585, his marriage to his second wife Elizabeth Talbot (Bess of Hardwick) , as well as his surviving collection of written work. Talbot
3760-490: The comfort of Eleanor Britton, one of his servants. George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury died on 18 November 1590, survived by his wife Bess of Hardwick. He was buried in the Shrewsbury chapel at Sheffield Parish Church (now Sheffield Cathedral), where a large monument erected to him can still be seen. He married twice: Shrewsbury left behind much written documentation including letters and papers. Generally, these cover
3854-467: The countryside than the cities. The staff at Chatsworth at the time consisted of a butler, an under-butler, a groom of the chambers, a valet, three footmen, a housekeeper, the Duchess's maid, 11 housemaids, two sewing women, a cook, two kitchen maids, a vegetable maid, two or three scullery maids, two still-room maids, a dairy maid, six laundry maids and the Duchess's secretary. All these 38 or 39 people lived in
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3948-594: The current Duke, Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire . The 11th Duke's widow, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire , died on 24 September 2014. Until then she was active in promoting the estate and increasing its visitor income. She made many additions to the gardens, including the maze, the kitchen, the cottage gardens and several commissions of modern sculpture. As Deborah Mitford, she wrote seven books on various aspects of Chatsworth and its massive property. A structural survey in 2004 showed that major renovation
4042-408: The death of his first wife, Gertrude Manners, Shrewsbury was immediately taken by Bess of Hardwick. In early 1568 he married her in a double wedding with their two eldest children from previous marriages. Elizabeth Shrewsbury, "Bess," commemorated her new initials in magnificent style: her house at Hardwick is topped with a balustrade within which the scrolling letters ES appear four times. He sent
4136-484: The disastrous Battle of Langside . Shrewsbury received his ward at Tutbury Castle on 2 February 1569, but in June he removed to Wingfield Manor , whereupon a rescue was attempted by Leonard Dacre . The Earl had several houses and castles in the interior of the kingdom, in any of which Mary might be kept with little danger. In September the household was back again at Tutbury, where an additional guard or spy, temporarily joined
4230-467: The estate was already burdened with debt from the 6th Duke's extravagances, the failure of the 7th Duke's business ventures at Barrow-in-Furness , and the depression in British agriculture apparent since the 1870s. In 1912 the family sold 25 books printed by William Caxton and a collection of 1,347 volumes of plays acquired by the 6th Duke, including four Shakespeare folios and 39 Shakespeare quartos , to
4324-552: The family and their two main estates. In 2019, the Duke and Duchess visited Sotheby's to view "Treasures From Chatsworth: art and artifacts from Chatsworth House" that would be displayed in New York. During the 2022 European heatwaves , a section of the Great Parterre that formerly occupied Chatsworth's South Lawn was revealed as the grass and soil dried out, showing the patterns of earthworks that had been used to construct it. As
4418-409: The family dining room. The family rooms were repainted, carpets were brought out of store and curtains were repaired or replaced. The Duke and Duchess and their three children moved across the park from Edensor House in 1959. In 1981, the trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement, owners of the house, created a new Chatsworth House Trust. The aim was to preserve the house and its setting for "the benefit of
4512-794: The family in the person of Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon . In November took place the Northern Rebellion , with the revolt of the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland, who planned to march on Tutbury. Mary was for the time being moved to Coventry , and did not return until the following January. In May 1570 Shrewsbury conducted her to Chatsworth , where he foiled another cabal aiming for her release. Cecil and Mildmay visited Chatsworth in October, and agreed on Mary's removal to Sheffield Castle (Shrewsbury's principal seat), which took place shortly afterwards. At Sheffield, apart from occasional visits to
4606-402: The gardens, in the conservatory and on the fountains, forming a scene of "unparalleled display and grandeur", according to one guest. The Duke spent 47 years transforming the house and gardens. A Latin inscription over the fireplace in the Painted Hall translates, "William Spencer, Duke of Devonshire, inherited this most beautiful house from his father in the year 1811, which had been begun in
4700-410: 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. Staircases in the north-east corner of the main block and in a turret in the east front enable them to move about without crossing the public route. The main family living rooms are on the first floor of the south front. The family dining room is in the south-east corner and has
4794-466: The ground floor was used by the gentlemen of the household, and later for informal family meals. Above it was the main family dining room, and at the top the Great Chamber , which was reserved for royalty, although the 6th Duke wrote that to his knowledge, it had never been used. The yellow drawing room is next to the dining room and directly beneath the State Drawing Room. The Dowager Duchess wrote that
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#17330861336554888-437: The hope of avoiding death duties , the Duke died a few weeks too early for the lifetime exemption to apply and tax was charged at 80 per cent on the estate. The amount due was £7 million (equivalent to £303 million as of 2023). Some of the family's advisors considered the situation irretrievable and there was a proposal to transfer Chatsworth to the nation as a Victoria and Albert Museum of Northern England . Instead,
4982-457: The house is so solidly built that the crowds passing above are imperceptible. The trio of reception rooms here is completed by the blue drawing room, below the State Music Room. This was created in the 18th century by knocking together the 1st Duke's bedroom and dressing room, and has a door to his private gallery at the upper level of the chapel. It has also served as a billiard room and a school room. Charity events are sometimes held in this part of
5076-425: The house or gardens, but both contributed much to the collection found at Chatsworth at the time. Connoisseurs of the arts, they included in the collection paintings, Old Master drawings and prints, ancient coins and carved Greek and Roman sculptures. Palladian furniture designed by William Kent was commissioned by the 3rd Duke when he had Devonshire House in London rebuilt after a fire in 1733. When Devonshire House
5170-445: The house was cleaned and tidied for reopening to the public by two Hungarian women, who had been Kathleen Kennedy's cook and housemaid in London, and a team of their compatriots. The house was Grade I listed in 1951 after the passage of the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 . In the mid-1950s, the 11th Duke and Duchess began to think about moving in. The pre-war house had relied wholly on
5264-512: The house was then connected to the mains supply. In 1988 a new turbine was installed, which produces about a third of the electricity the house needs. Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales , 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Bakewell and 9 miles (14 km) west of Chesterfield , England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire , it has belonged to
5358-556: The house. Both drawing rooms have access to the garden through the South Front's external staircase. Three corridors called the Tapestry Gallery, Burlington Corridor and Book Passage are wrapped round the south, west and north passages at this level and give access to family bedrooms. There is a sitting room in the north-west corner — one of the few rooms in the house with outside views in two directions. There are more family bedrooms on
5452-459: The house. Daily staff included the odd man, an upholsterer, a scullery maid, two scrubbing women, a laundry porter, a steam boiler man, a coal man, two porter's lodge attendants, two night firemen, a night porter, two window cleaners, and a team of joiners, plumbers and electricians. The Clerk of Works supervised the maintenance of the house and other properties on the estate. There were also grooms, chauffeurs and gamekeepers. The number of garden staff
5546-582: The increase in land values after 1950, during the post-war agricultural revival, and so on the face of it the losses were much less than 80 per cent in terms of physical assets. In Derbyshire 35,000 acres (14,000 ha) were retained out of 83,000 acres (34,000 ha). The Bolton Abbey estate in Yorkshire and the Lismore Castle estate in Ireland remained in the family. It took 17 years to complete negotiations with
5640-444: The lawn's grass has shorter roots, it dried out faster, creating a contrast that allows the structure to be viewed with the naked eye. Chatsworth House is built on sloping ground, lower on the north and west sides than on the south and east sides. The original Tudor mansion was built in the 1560s by Bess of Hardwick in a quadrangle layout, about 170 feet (50 m) from north to south and 190 feet (60 m) from east to west, with
5734-450: The lifestyle of their time without changing the fundamental layout, which in this way is unique, full of irregularities, and the interiors are decorated by a diverse centuries-old collection of different styles. Many of the rooms are recognisable as of one main period, but in nearly every case, they have been altered more often than might be supposed at first glance. The 1st Duke created a richly appointed Baroque suite of state rooms across
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#17330861336555828-472: The limited supply of water, the fountain usually runs on partial power and only reaches half its full height, but occasionally it is switched to maximum flow. The water power found a practical use generating Chatsworth's electricity from 1893. Gilkes of Kendal installed three vortex turbines and a generator in an underground chamber, approximately 120 m (400 feet) down the hill from the Emperor Lake. From 1936
5922-550: The mid-17th century. William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire , a staunch Royalist , was expelled from the House of Lords in 1642. He left England for the safety of the continent and his estates were sequestered. Chatsworth was occupied by both sides during the Civil War , and the 3rd Earl did not return to the house until The Restoration of the monarchy. He reconstructed the principal rooms in an attempt to make them more comfortable, but
6016-452: The new house in 1553. She selected a site near the river, which was drained by digging a series of reservoirs, which doubled as fish ponds. Sir William died in 1557, but Bess finished the house in the 1560s and lived there with her fourth husband, George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury . In 1568 Shrewsbury was entrusted with the custody of Mary, Queen of Scots , and brought his prisoner to Chatsworth several times from 1570 onwards. She lodged in
6110-405: The north end of the east front. The problem was overcome by building a slightly curved façade to distract the eye. The attic windows on this side are the only ones visible on the exterior of the house and are set into the main façade, rather than into a visible roof. Those in the curved section were originally oval, but are now rectangular like those in the end sections. The north front was altered in
6204-426: The original front door in the west front, which was relegated to secondary status in the Duke's time, but is now the family's private entrance again. The façades of the central courtyard were also rebuilt by the 1st Duke. The courtyard was larger than it is now, as there were no corridors on the western side and the northern and southern sides only had enclosed galleries on the first floor, with open galleries below. In
6298-467: The public". The new trust was granted a 99-year lease of the house, its main contents, its grounds, its precincts and adjacent forestry, a total of 1,822 acres (737 ha). To legalise this, the Chatsworth House Trust pays a token rent of £1 a year. To facilitate the arrangement and build up a sufficient multi-million-pound endowment fund, the trustees sold works of art, mostly old masters' drawings, which had not been on regular display. The Cavendish family
6392-573: The reign of George IV (1762–1830). Those who stayed at Chatsworth included Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens . In October 1832, Princess Victoria (later Queen Victoria) and her mother, the Duchess of Kent , visited Chatsworth, where the Princess had her first formal adult dinner at the age of 13, in the new dining room. The 6th Duke had another chance to welcome Victoria in 1843, when the Queen and Prince Albert returned to enjoy an array of illumination in
6486-504: The resulting water jet is on record as reaching a height of 296 feet (90 m). However, the Tsar died in 1855 and never saw the fountain. The fountain was seen by Prince Wilhelm of Prussia , who visited the park on Thursday 22 August 1844. The fountain is at the north end of the Canal Pond, which was dug in 1703. The metal jet is surrounded by irregularly placed boulders. To the north are two sandstone sculptures of reclining figures. Because of
6580-453: The roof. Chatsworth has 126 rooms, with nearly 100 of them closed to visitors. The house is well adapted to allow the family to live privately in their apartments while the house is open to the public. Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire , described the family rooms in detail in her book Chatsworth: The House . She lived at Edensor until her death in 2014; the present (12th) Duke and Duchess live at Chatsworth. The family occupies rooms on
6674-431: The rooms largely untouched, making additions rather than changing the existing spaces of the house. Changes to the main baroque interiors were restricted to details such as stamped leather hangings on the walls of the State Music Room and State Bedroom, and a wider, shallower, but less elegant staircase in the Painted Hall, which was itself later replaced. The contents of the State Apartments were rearranged in 2010 to reflect
6768-544: The same dimensions as the State Dining Room directly above. This has been the usual location of the family dining room; the Bachelor Duke's dining room in the north wing took over that role for an interlude of little over a hundred years. Both Bess of Hardwick's house and the 1st Duke's house had a hierarchy of three dining rooms in this corner, each taller and more lavishly decorated than the one below. A common parlour on
6862-460: The second floor facing west and north. The Scots and Leicester bedrooms in the east wing are still used when there is a large house party, which is why they are sometimes available as a separately charged optional extra in the tour of the house and sometimes not. This suite now contains the 11th Duke's Exhibition. Visitors bypass the first floor on their way down the West Stairs from the state rooms to
6956-405: The smoking room for the men. Women would return to their bedroom many times during the day to change their outfits. The guest bedrooms on the east front at Chatsworth are the most complete set from the period to survive with their original furnishings. There is much eastern influence in the decoration, including hand-painted Chinese wallpapers and fabrics typical of Regency taste, which developed in
7050-429: The south front when expecting a visit from King William III and Queen Mary II , which never occurred. The State Apartments are approached from the Painted Hall, decorated with murals of scenes from the life of Julius Caesar by Louis Laguerre , and ascend by the cantilevered Great Stairs to an enfilade of rooms that controlled how far a person could progress into the presence of the King and Queen. The Great Chamber
7144-405: The south front. It is also large, with many other nine-bay three-storey façades little more than half as wide and tall. The west front is very lively with much carved stonework, and the window frames are highlighted with gold leaf, which catches the setting sun. The north front was the last to be built. It presented a challenge, as the north end of the west front projected nine feet (3 m) further than
7238-411: The south were begun, but later abandoned. The entire ground floor of the North Wing was occupied by service rooms, including a kitchen, servants' hall, laundry, butler and housekeeper's rooms. On the first floor, facing west, were two sets of bachelor bedrooms called "California" and "The Birds". The main rooms in the new wing face east and were accessed from the main house through a small library called
7332-415: The staircase hang portraits of the first 11 Dukes and some of their family members. The Duke made a library of the long gallery, originally created by the 1st Duke. He was a great lover of books and purchased entire libraries. The Ante-Library in the adjoining room was originally used by the 1st Duke as a dining room and then a billiard room, before the 6th Duke used it for his growing collection of books. This
7426-600: The time between his succession to the earlship in 1560 and his death. Many of Shrewsbury's surviving papers found their way in the College of Arms and were re-united with others in the Lambeth Palace library in 1983 as the "Shrewsbury-Talbot papers". This historical resource was first published in 1791 by Edmund Lodge , and all the letters were more recently summarized in calendar form. In addition to these, letters by Talbot to and from his second wife Bess of Hardwick survive in
7520-440: The two. Slowly but increasingly declining health ( rheumatism ) caused chronic pain, and money issues that inevitably came about during his time as keeper of the Queen of Scots, made him additionally caustic. Elizabeth attempted to reconcile Shrewsbury and Hardwick between 1586 and 1589; however, while the latter was in support of this, Shrewsbury seems to have remained indignant and spent his final years without her, instead seeking
7614-410: The way they had looked in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 1760s, William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire , redirected the approach to Chatsworth. He converted the kitchen in the centre of the north front into an entrance hall, from which guests walked through an open colonnade in the courtyard, through a passage past the cook's bedroom and the back stairs, and into the Painted Hall. He then built
7708-601: The year of English liberty 1688, and completed it in the year of his bereavement 1840." The year 1688 was that of the Glorious Revolution , supported by the Whig dynasties including the Cavendishes. The year 1840 brought the death of the Duke's beloved niece Blanche, who was married to his heir, the future 7th Duke . In 1844, the 6th Duke privately printed and published a book called Handbook to Chatsworth and Hardwick , giving
7802-420: Was a collector especially of sculpture and books. When he built the North Wing to the designs of Sir Jeffry Wyatville , it included a purpose-built Sculpture Gallery to house his collection. He took over several rooms in the house to contain the entire libraries he was purchasing at auction. The 6th Duke loved to entertain, and the early 19th century saw a rise in popularity of country-house parties. In addition to
7896-463: Was a key building in the development of English Baroque architecture. According to the architectural historian Sir John Summerson , "It inaugurates an artistic revolution which is the counterpart of the political revolution in which the Earl was so prominent a leader." The design of the south front was revolutionary for an English house, with no attics or hipped roof, but instead two main stories supported by
7990-450: Was acquired. The Great Conservatory in the garden at Chatsworth was demolished, as it needed 10 men to run it, huge quantities of coal to heat it and all the plants had died during the war, when no coal had been available for non-essential purposes. To reduce running costs further, there was talk of pulling down the 6th Duke's north wing, which was then seen as having no aesthetic or historical value, but nothing came of it. Chiswick House –
8084-645: Was becoming increasingly unfashionable. He enjoyed building and reconstructed the East Front, which included the Painted Hall and Long Gallery, followed by the West Front from 1699 to 1702. The North Front was completed in 1707 just before he died. The 1st Duke also had large parterre gardens designed by George London and Henry Wise , who was later appointed by Queen Anne as Royal Gardener at Kensington Palace . William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire , and William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire , made no changes to
8178-458: Was carried out in an Italianate style that blends smoothly with the elaborate finish of the baroque house. The 6th Duke built a gatehouse at this end of the house with three gates. The central, largest gate led to the North Entrance, then the main entrance to the house. This is now the entrance used by visitors. The north gate led to the service courtyard, while the matching south gate led to
8272-528: Was just one of the rooms where the Duke installed a single-pane window, which he saw as the "greatest ornament of modern decoration". The window in the Ante-Library is the only one preserved. Much of the scientific library of Henry Cavendish (1731–1810) is in this room. The most notable addition by the 6th Duke to Chatsworth was the Wyatville-designed North Wing. Plans for a symmetrical wing to
8366-430: Was likely to visit Chatsworth the following year. In anticipation of this visit, William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire , decided to construct the world's highest fountain , and set Joseph Paxton to work to build it. An eight-acre (32,000 m) lake, the Emperor Lake, was dug on the moors 350 feet (110 m) above the house to supply the natural water pressure. The work was finished in just six months, early in 1844, and
8460-599: Was required. A £32 million programme of works was undertaken, including restoration of stonework, statues, paintings, tapestries and water features. The work, the most extensive for 200 years, took ten years and was completed in 2018. According to the Estate website, Chatsworth remains home to the 12th Duke and Duchess. They are involved in the operation through the Charitable Trust. The Devonshire Collection Archives stored at Chatsworth include 450 years of documents about
8554-473: Was sold and demolished in 1924, the furniture was transferred to Chatsworth. The 4th Duke made great changes to the house and gardens. He decided the approach to the house should be from the west. He had the old stables and offices as well as parts of Edensor village pulled down so they were not visible from the house, and replaced the 1st Duke's formal gardens with a more natural look, designed by Capability Brown , which he helped bring into fashion. In 1748,
8648-616: Was somewhere between 80 in the 6th Duke's time and the 20 or so in the early 21st century. There was also a librarian, Francis Thompson, who wrote the first book-length account of Chatsworth since the 6th Duke's handbook. Most of the UK's country houses were put to institutional use in the Second World War. Some of those used as barracks were badly damaged, but the 10th Duke , thinking that schoolgirls would make better tenants than soldiers, arranged for Chatsworth to be occupied by Penrhos College ,
8742-715: Was the great-great-great-great aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales ; their lives, centuries apart, have been compared in tragedy. The 6th Duke (known as "the Bachelor Duke") was a passionate traveller, builder, gardener and collector, who transformed Chatsworth. In 1811 he inherited the title and eight major estates: Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, Devonshire House, Burlington House and Chiswick House in London, Bolton Abbey and Londesborough Hall in Yorkshire, and Lismore Castle in Ireland. These covered 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) of land in England and Ireland. The Duke
8836-577: Was the only son of Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury and Mary Dacre. In early life he saw active military service, when he took part in the invasion of Scotland under the Protector Somerset . He was sent by his father in October 1557 to the relief of Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland pent up in Alnwick Castle . He then remained for some months in service on the border, with five hundred horsemen under his command. In 1560, he inherited
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