Welcome to Stately Homes

Chatsworth is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire; in 1549 Sir William Cavendish bought the estate of Chatsworth from the Agard family and soon afterwards began to build on the site of the present house. The building was incomplete at the time of his death in 1557 and was finished by his widow, Bess of Hardwick.

The house was a 3-storey Elizabethan structure enclosing a square court. It covered roughly the area of the present house (without the addition made by the 6th Duke) and its walls were partly incorporated into the existing structure when the house was remodelled between 1686 and 1707 for the 4th Earl, who was later made a duke by King William III for his support in the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688, which brought King William and Queen Mary to the throne of England.

At first the Earl only intended to rebuild the south front, but with the accession of William III and the elevation of the Earl to a Dukedom his schemes became grander, and by 1707 he had in fact rebuilt the whole house.

The Duke devoted as much attention to the interior of the house as to the exterior. A team of the finest craftsmen available in England had been busy since 1689 with the painting and stuccoing of ceilings, the panelling of walls and the forging of wrought iron for banisters, thereby making the rooms, hall, staircases and chapel of Chatsworth among the most splendid to be found in any English country house.

During the 18th century relatively few changes were made to the house, but between 1755 and 1764 the 4th Duke commissioned James Paine to build the magnificent stables, whose richly rusticated style justifies their description as among the most baroque buildings in England. He also employed Lancelot Brown, usually known as "Capability" Brown, to replant the park in the new picturesque style, and the part of the village of Edensor, which could be seen from the house, was demolished.

The 6th Duke was possessed of an almost dangerous passion for building, and he gave free rein to it when he succeeded his father in 1811. In 1818 he embarked on an ambitious project, which involved adding a new wing to the north in continuation of the east wing of the house. While the building was going up the Duke decided to insert an Orangery on the ground floor and to add a theatre in a tower over the north end of the wing.

The Duke's architect was Jeffry Wyatt, who was recommended to him by the 6th Duke of Bedford, for whom Wyatt had worked as Woburn Abbey. A few years later, having changed his name to Wyatville, he was to gain fame by his remodelling of Windsor Castle for George IV.

Chatsworth has a very Comprehensive Website, with extremely full details of all their activities.

It is worth noting that they have a wide range of beautiful self catering accommodation across the estate, sleeping from 2 to 30 people.

Garden:

The 105 acre garden at Chatsworth is a landscape that has evolved over 450 years, reflecting many important eras in landscape design. For more than 300 years it has been famed for its gravity-fed waterworks, but its five miles of walks also reveal spectacular rockeries, greenhouses, formal vistas, rare trees and shrubs, temples and views out over the Park. There are also Kitchen, Cottage and Rose Gardens, and a Maze.

Opening Times - 2010:

House:
11th March - 23rd December: daily, 11 am - 5.30 pm, last admission 4.30 pm

Park:
Open all year, free of charge. House car park shut during closed season

Garden:
11.00 am – 6.00 pm, last admission 5.00 pm

Admission Charges - 2010:

House & Garden:
Summer:
Adult - £11.50
Child - £6.25
Senior/Student - £9.50
Family - £30

Winter:
Adult - £12.75
Child - £6.75
Senior/Student - £10.75
Family - £35

Pre-booked groups(15+):
Adult - £9
Senior/Student - £7.50

Garden only:
Adult - £7.50
Child - £4.50
Senior/Student - £6
Family - £21

Groups:
Adult - £10.25
Senior - £8.75

Farmyard & Adventure Playground:
Adult - £5
Child - £5.25
Senior/Student - £4
Family - £19.50
Groups (15+) - £4.50

More information on the garden can be found on The Gardens Guide.