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CHATSWORTH HOUSE - 24/08/03

Today we visit the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, Chatsworth House. You can find the house and gardens in the Peak District, Derbyshire, to the West of Chesterfield, it is signposted off the A619 road that runs from Bakewell to Chesterfield. The weather is bright and sunny after a dull start to the day.

To start with, we visit the house itself, I was surprised to find there are no objections to photography inside the building. Work started on the first house on this site in the mid 16th Century and major changes to the building carried on right through the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries.
There are a variety of magnificent exhibits throughout, including sculptures, porcelain, silver and paintings, with famous artists like Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough Tintoretto, Landseer and Freud featured. The centre photo above is The Oak Room, the oldest room in the house, with oak panelling and carved heads from a German monastery purchased by the 6th Duke.
The photo on the left shows the magnificent library room, other rooms inside the house include the Chapel, The State Music Room the Sculpture Gallery, (centre and right photos) State Dining Room and for a small extra fee you can visit the Scots Rooms, where Mary, Queen of Scots stayed in the Elizabethan house several times, between 1570 and 1581.
It is Bank Holiday weekend here in England, and with the nice weather Chatsworth it's a busy place! for more details regarding Chatsworth House, including admission costs and current events you can visit the official website www.chatsworth.org
We visit the gardens after the House, more details and photographs can be seen in page 2, to visit click here.