Chatsworth Charm
Friday, July 17, 2009 by Jason Oliver Nixon.
I have long been semi-obsessed with Chatsworth, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Devonshire located smack in the heart of Derbyshire’s Peaks District. Why, you might ask?
I think my obsession is two-fold:
A. The home and gardens are famous, famous, famous for their beauty.
B. And until recently, the estate was home to Deborah, the Duchess of Devonshire (the last of the astonishing Mitford sisters). If you haven’t read the now-Dowager Duchess’ books, such as Counting My Chickens: And Other Home Thoughts, (as well as her many other tales detailing life upon the estate—full of humorous anecdotes and bits of wisdom), you should jump on amazon.com right this second and place an order. I lap up her words like a fish sucks up water.
Much of the film The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley, was filmed at Chatsworth, too, and I think that a recent viewing triggered a visit, so I rented a car in London and zipped up the M1 highway (whilst driving on the left—egads!) for my pilgrimage to this glorious home and its sprawling gardens.
The gardens at Chatsworth with the “home”—aka “Palace of the Peak”—in the background. The current Duke and Duchess still occupy rooms on the ground floor.
And let’s just say that Chatsworth doesn’t disappoint. The gardens are tremendous, awe-inspiring—from the majestic Emperor Fountain (which can shoot up some 260 feet when at full throttle) to the tricky, yew-hedged maze and the stunning works of contemporary art cleverly scattered amid the clipped hornbeam hedges and grottoes. And the house—if you can call it a “house”—is breathtaking with its impressive collection of Old Masters paintings and room upon room of spectacular architectural details and majestic scale (the home is currently undergoing a massive renovation, so I can’t wait to re-visit once it has been fully scrubbed up).
The impossibly long library left me breathless.
A scarlet bed with crimson damask drapery offers a dramatic focal point.
After my lengthy perambulations, I zipped over to the estate’s idyllic Farm Shop for a lunch of Chatsworth-raised ham served upon a hearty Derbyshire oatcake with cheddar cheese and finished it off with scones and clotted cream.
Glorious!
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