Chatsworth House in Derbyshire reopens after £15m facelift, Daily Mail Online
Charming Chatsworth: Derbyshire’s grand dame of a stately home shines forward after a captivating £15million top-to-toe overhaul
Updated: 09:31 BST, eight March two thousand ten
In the late Thirties Noel Coward gently lampooned the dishevelled state of the superb British country houses, singing: . if the Van Dycks have to go, and we pawn the Bechstein Grand, we’ll stand, by the Stately Homes of England.”
The Depression had left the fine estates, like the rest of Britain, in straitened circumstances. Conveniently perched on their aristocratic pinnacle, however, they could scarcely have guessed at the financial horrors about to come.
A bridge over placid water: Chatsworth loves an idyllic setting in rural Derbyshire
After the 2nd World War the landed gentry were almost knocked vapid by the imposition of fresh death duties; all of a sudden the future existence of Britain’s most glorious ancestral piles was in jeopardy.
Hitherto, the likes of Longleat, Woburn Abbey, Beaulieu and Blenheim Palace had loved a quiet, contented existence and there seemed little reason to suppose this wellordered state of affairs would alter. But at a stroke, the noble families of Britain not only had to find ways of paying off big tax requests (more than a few Van Dycks and other Old Masters went to the sale room to meet these bills), they also had to establish a way of attempting to safeguard the future.
Some opted out entirely by handing over their homes to the National Trust, but others fought on. Lord Bath famously established the Lions of Longleat and the Duke of Bedford followed his example with a safari park at Woburn Abbey, while Lord Montagu opened a motor museum at Beaulieu.
But it is arguably England’s most spectacular country house – Chatsworth, ancestral home of the Dukes of Devonshire –which has survived most impressively. In fact, it has not merely survived but has successfully recreated itself as one of the world’s most extreme tourist attractions.
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The Chatsworth story began with Bess of Hardwick in Tudor times, who was a forebear of the Devonshires, and proceeds now with Peregrine, the 12th Duke of Devonshire who inherited the title on the death of his father Andrew in 2004. In inbetween are successive generations of the family – some brilliant, many clearly bonkers – who have in various ways faithful themselves to the maintenance and improvement of the family seat.
For most of its life Chatsworth was – in its magnificent way – the physical embodiment of their wealth and status. These days it is a commercial enterprise which needs visitors to get through. Tourism is an industry, like showbusiness, which depends on selling myths and fantasies, and just as we queue to see blockbuster films, only the larger-than-life attractions draw the big crowds.
Hollywood thrills: Keira Knightley starred in the two thousand eight movie The Duchess, which is partly set at Chatsworth
Chatsworth is all showbusiness: the ‘ Palace of the Peaks’ is an attraction that not only predominates the glorious Derbyshire countryside but which has succeeded in outpacing its rivals. It was the very first country house, for example, to open a Farm Shop, which last year was rated the best in the country. It has also become a successful Hollywood starlet in its own right.
It figured prominently in the two thousand five film of Pride And Prejudice starring Keira Knightley, which was fairly fitting – when Jane Austen needed inspiration for Pemberley, the home of Mr Darcy, she had to look no further than Chatsworth which is actually referred to by name in her novel.
This year the house has had another Hollywood moment as an unlikely backdrop to The Wolfman, starring Anthony Hopkins.
Keira Knightley returned to Chatsworth in two thousand eight to film The Duchess in which she played the part of Georgiana, the very first wifey of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire. The extreme story of Georgiana (compulsive gambler and tireless socialite) forms a key part of a fresh exhibition in Chatsworth loyal not only to her life but also to her tastes, reflected in displays of portraits, furniture and works of art that she commissioned or acquired, many not seen by visitors before.
At the centre of the display is the famous portrait of her by Thomas Gainsborough. The painting mysteriously vanished from Chatsworth in the 19th Century, but later turned up in the home of an elderly schoolmistress who had lopped off the bottom half of the full-length portrait so that it would fit above her fireplace.
After the painting was found – by Allan Pinkerton of the famous Pinkerton’s detective agency – it was put on display at London auctioneer’s Agnew’s. It was instantaneously stolen by the master criminal Adam Worth (who provided Tormentor Arthur Conan Doyle with the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes’s nemesis Moriarty). Gratefully, the painting is now back in its rightful place at Chatsworth. But the unlikely connections inbetween Chatsworth and the world of fiction don’t stop there.
When I met the Duke in his investigate, he was cradling the fabulous Kniphausen Hawk, a 17th Century statuette made of silver and silver gilt and set with precious gemstones, which has been at Chatsworth since 1819. This extreme bird is said to have provided the inspiration for the priceless statuette at the heart of the intrigue in The Maltese Falcon, the one thousand nine hundred forty one movie which starlets Humphrey Bogart.
The real deal: Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
The Hawk takes pride of place in a entirely fresh gallery created to display art and treasures from the vast Chatsworth collection. The fresh gallery is part of a £15million programme of renovations which has opened up more of the house to visitors.
Those arriving at Chatsworth next Sunday for the opening day of the fresh season will detect a fresh visitor route through the house that will expose freshly restored rooms and elegant fresh displays not only celebrating the legendary Georgiana but also the 90th bday of Deborah Devonshire, the present Dowager Duchess. She is the last surviving member of the famous Mitford sisters whose number included famous writer Nancy, society beauty Diana (who married British fascist leader Master Oswald Mosley), Unity, who travelled to Berlin to pursue her allegiance to Hitler, and communist Jessica.
Deborah’s role in reviving the fortunes of Chatsworth has been immense. The Duke told me: ‘She made the best of Chatsworth. Together with my father she turned it around. When they took it over it was a bit of a millstone but they turned it into a indeed successful, truly popular place. My parents deserve all of the credit.’
While the Deborah exhibition inevitably reflects some of the Mitford history it also highlights her other passions, which include Elvis Presley. On view will be her cherished Elvis phone – Elvis swivels the famous pelvis at the touch of a button – and her authentic lump of Graceland, a length of garden fence introduced to the Dowager Duchess by Elvis’s former neighbour.
A more sombre American connection can be seen in the graveyard of St Peter’s, the Chatsworth parish church. Here lies the assets of JFK’s sister Kathleen ‘Kick’ Kennedy, who in one thousand nine hundred forty four married William Cavendish, the heir to the Duke of Devonshire. He was killed in activity just four months later.
Kathleen died four years afterwards when the plane she was travelling in crashed in France. Five months before he was assassinated in Dallas, JFK came to Chatsworth to visit his sister’s grave – and the present Duke vividly remembers the day the President came to the Peak District. He recalled: ‘It was the only time I met him. He landed by the church in a helicopter and visited his sister’s grave. Then, in movie style, we all seemed to run to lots of cars to come back over here to lunch. My parents were very fond of him.’
Shine of the times: The stately home has undergone a £15million facelift
Tho’ the house is packed with all sorts of extreme history, the Duke’s pressing task is to keep focused squarely on the future. He has personally overseen the £15million programme of restorations and improvements which will take Chatsworth to a fresh level as a tourist attraction. Innovations this year include access to the restored stone courtyard at the heart of the house, improved access facilities meaning far fewer stairs for all visitors, and a fresh lift providing total disabled access to all three floors of the house for the very first time.
The Duke spends a lot of time talking to visitors, finding out what they like and dislike about Chatsworth and what takes them there. He said: ‘The thing that people truly love is the entire landscape: not just the house or just the garden or just the farmyard but the entire place. You come into this beautiful park and even on a abate day it looks rather wonderful. People tell me they find it peaceful and intriguing.’
With the fresh season, the Duke feels optimistic having benefited last year from the ‘staycation’ effect.
‘In terms of numbers of visitors, last year was good, attendance was well up – back to what it should have been after a rough year in two thousand eight because of bad summer weather,’ he said.
‘There is some doubt as to whether we will see people holidaying in Britain again this year but we will proceed our marketing effort. As for fresh developments, we’re always thinking about the next thing and the thing after that.’
It’s a sign of Chatsworth’s forward thinking that while there are slew of rooms packed with old treasures, there is also a commitment to modern art: previous exhibitions have featured chunks by Damien Hirst and Marc Quinn.
I wondered what Chatsworth’s original Tudor doyenne Bess of Hardwick would make of all the switches. ‘She’d be delighted,’ the Duke said, ‘very glad that what she commenced is still going strong. It’s amazing how it’s suffered –we’ve had lots of good luck.’
As someone arrives to comeback the Kniphausen Hawk back to its secure home, I think of a line from the Humphrey Bogart film that this bird inspired. As Kasper Gutman, played by Sydney Greenstreet, prepares to dispense with the services of Wilmer (Elisha Cook Jr), he says: ‘I couldn’t be fonder of you if you were my own son. But, well, if you lose a son, it’s possible to get another. There’s only one Maltese Falcon.’
And there ‘ s only one Chatsworth.
Meet the man of the house: The present Duke of Devonshire
All the joy of the country fair
Across the year Chatsworth stages several key events including an Easter Eggstravaganza from April 2-11 and the annual Country Fair from September 3-5 – described by Alan Titchmarsh as the country’s ‘best outdoor showcase’.
There are international pony trials on May 15-16 and a Tudor Fair where you can attempt your forearm at archery or sample Elizabethan cookery from May 19-31. Fresh this year will be a spectacular Tulip festival, in conjunction with de Jager bulbs, running alongside the Florabundance floral celebration in the house, during six days from Saturday, May 1.
At the end of the year Chatsworth will be staging a Russian Christmas on the two lower floors of the house. There will also be seasonal shopping and food, special evening openings and gourmet feasts and live Nativity spectacles with animals from the farmyard. Chatsworth is open every day from March fourteen to December 23, 2010.
A one-day Discovery ticket, which permits access to the house, garden and farmyard, costs £15.50 for adults and £9.50 for children (aged four-16 inclusive, under-fours free).
A family Discovery ticket (two adults, up to three children) costs £46.
Chatsworth House in Derbyshire reopens after £15m facelift, Daily Mail Online
Charming Chatsworth: Derbyshire’s grand dame of a stately home shines forward after a captivating £15million top-to-toe overhaul
Updated: 09:31 BST, eight March two thousand ten
In the late Thirties Noel Coward gently lampooned the dishevelled state of the good British country houses, singing: . if the Van Dycks have to go, and we pawn the Bechstein Grand, we’ll stand, by the Stately Homes of England.”
The Depression had left the fine estates, like the rest of Britain, in straitened circumstances. Cozily perched on their aristocratic pinnacle, however, they could slightly have guessed at the financial horrors about to come.
A bridge over placid water: Chatsworth loves an idyllic setting in rural Derbyshire
After the 2nd World War the landed gentry were almost knocked plane by the imposition of fresh death duties; all of a sudden the future existence of Britain’s most glorious ancestral piles was in jeopardy.
Hitherto, the likes of Longleat, Woburn Abbey, Beaulieu and Blenheim Palace had liked a quiet, contented existence and there seemed little reason to suppose this wellordered state of affairs would alter. But at a stroke, the noble families of Britain not only had to find ways of paying off ample tax requests (more than a few Van Dycks and other Old Masters went to the sale room to meet these bills), they also had to establish a way of attempting to safeguard the future.
Some opted out entirely by handing over their homes to the National Trust, but others fought on. Lord Bath famously established the Lions of Longleat and the Duke of Bedford followed his example with a safari park at Woburn Abbey, while Lord Montagu opened a motor museum at Beaulieu.
But it is arguably England’s most splendid country house – Chatsworth, ancestral home of the Dukes of Devonshire –which has survived most impressively. In fact, it has not merely survived but has successfully recreated itself as one of the world’s most extreme tourist attractions.
RELATED ARTICLES
Share this article
The Chatsworth story began with Bess of Hardwick in Tudor times, who was a forebear of the Devonshires, and resumes now with Peregrine, the 12th Duke of Devonshire who inherited the title on the death of his father Andrew in 2004. In inbetween are successive generations of the family – some brilliant, many clearly bonkers – who have in various ways dedicated themselves to the maintenance and improvement of the family seat.
For most of its life Chatsworth was – in its magnificent way – the physical embodiment of their wealth and status. These days it is a commercial enterprise which needs visitors to get through. Tourism is an industry, like showbusiness, which depends on selling myths and fantasies, and just as we queue to see blockbuster films, only the larger-than-life attractions draw the big crowds.
Hollywood thrills: Keira Knightley starred in the two thousand eight movie The Duchess, which is partly set at Chatsworth
Chatsworth is all showbusiness: the ‘ Palace of the Peaks’ is an attraction that not only predominates the glorious Derbyshire countryside but which has succeeded in outpacing its rivals. It was the very first country house, for example, to open a Farm Shop, which last year was rated the best in the country. It has also become a successful Hollywood starlet in its own right.
It figured prominently in the two thousand five film of Pride And Prejudice starring Keira Knightley, which was fairly fitting – when Jane Austen needed inspiration for Pemberley, the home of Mr Darcy, she had to look no further than Chatsworth which is actually referred to by name in her novel.
This year the house has had another Hollywood moment as an unlikely backdrop to The Wolfman, starring Anthony Hopkins.
Keira Knightley returned to Chatsworth in two thousand eight to film The Duchess in which she played the part of Georgiana, the very first wifey of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire. The extreme story of Georgiana (compulsive gambler and tireless socialite) forms a key part of a fresh exhibition in Chatsworth dedicated not only to her life but also to her tastes, reflected in displays of portraits, furniture and works of art that she commissioned or acquired, many not seen by visitors before.
At the centre of the display is the famous portrait of her by Thomas Gainsborough. The painting mysteriously vanished from Chatsworth in the 19th Century, but later turned up in the home of an elderly schoolmistress who had lopped off the bottom half of the full-length portrait so that it would fit above her fireplace.
After the painting was found – by Allan Pinkerton of the famous Pinkerton’s detective agency – it was put on display at London auctioneer’s Agnew’s. It was instantaneously stolen by the master criminal Adam Worth (who provided Tormentor Arthur Conan Doyle with the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes’s nemesis Moriarty). Gratefully, the painting is now back in its rightful place at Chatsworth. But the unlikely connections inbetween Chatsworth and the world of fiction don’t stop there.
When I met the Duke in his explore, he was cradling the fabulous Kniphausen Hawk, a 17th Century statuette made of silver and silver gilt and set with precious gemstones, which has been at Chatsworth since 1819. This extreme bird is said to have provided the inspiration for the priceless statuette at the heart of the intrigue in The Maltese Falcon, the one thousand nine hundred forty one movie which starlets Humphrey Bogart.
The real deal: Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
The Hawk takes pride of place in a downright fresh gallery created to display art and treasures from the vast Chatsworth collection. The fresh gallery is part of a £15million programme of renovations which has opened up more of the house to visitors.
Those arriving at Chatsworth next Sunday for the opening day of the fresh season will detect a fresh visitor route through the house that will expose freshly restored rooms and elegant fresh displays not only celebrating the legendary Georgiana but also the 90th bday of Deborah Devonshire, the present Dowager Duchess. She is the last surviving member of the famous Mitford sisters whose number included famous writer Nancy, society beauty Diana (who married British fascist leader Master Oswald Mosley), Unity, who travelled to Berlin to pursue her fidelity to Hitler, and communist Jessica.
Deborah’s role in reviving the fortunes of Chatsworth has been immense. The Duke told me: ‘She made the best of Chatsworth. Together with my father she turned it around. When they took it over it was a bit of a millstone but they turned it into a indeed successful, indeed popular place. My parents deserve all of the credit.’
While the Deborah exhibition inevitably reflects some of the Mitford history it also highlights her other passions, which include Elvis Presley. On view will be her cherished Elvis phone – Elvis swivels the famous pelvis at the touch of a button – and her authentic chunk of Graceland, a length of garden fence introduced to the Dowager Duchess by Elvis’s former neighbour.
A more sombre American connection can be seen in the graveyard of St Peter’s, the Chatsworth parish church. Here lies the bod of JFK’s sister Kathleen ‘Kick’ Kennedy, who in one thousand nine hundred forty four married William Cavendish, the heir to the Duke of Devonshire. He was killed in activity just four months later.
Kathleen died four years afterwards when the plane she was travelling in crashed in France. Five months before he was assassinated in Dallas, JFK came to Chatsworth to visit his sister’s grave – and the present Duke vividly remembers the day the President came to the Peak District. He recalled: ‘It was the only time I met him. He landed by the church in a helicopter and visited his sister’s grave. Then, in movie style, we all seemed to run to lots of cars to come back over here to lunch. My parents were very fond of him.’
Shine of the times: The stately home has undergone a £15million facelift
Tho’ the house is packed with all sorts of extreme history, the Duke’s pressing task is to keep focused squarely on the future. He has personally overseen the £15million programme of restorations and improvements which will take Chatsworth to a fresh level as a tourist attraction. Innovations this year include access to the restored stone courtyard at the heart of the house, improved access facilities meaning far fewer stairs for all visitors, and a fresh lift providing utter disabled access to all three floors of the house for the very first time.
The Duke spends a lot of time talking to visitors, finding out what they like and dislike about Chatsworth and what takes them there. He said: ‘The thing that people truly love is the entire landscape: not just the house or just the garden or just the farmyard but the entire place. You come into this beautiful park and even on a abate day it looks rather wonderful. People tell me they find it peaceful and intriguing.’
With the fresh season, the Duke feels optimistic having benefited last year from the ‘staycation’ effect.
‘In terms of numbers of visitors, last year was good, attendance was well up – back to what it should have been after a harsh year in two thousand eight because of bad summer weather,’ he said.
‘There is some doubt as to whether we will see people holidaying in Britain again this year but we will proceed our marketing effort. As for fresh developments, we’re always thinking about the next thing and the thing after that.’
It’s a sign of Chatsworth’s forward thinking that while there are slew of rooms packed with old treasures, there is also a commitment to modern art: previous exhibitions have featured chunks by Damien Hirst and Marc Quinn.
I wondered what Chatsworth’s original Tudor doyenne Bess of Hardwick would make of all the switches. ‘She’d be delighted,’ the Duke said, ‘very blessed that what she began is still going strong. It’s amazing how it’s suffered –we’ve had lots of good luck.’
As someone arrives to comeback the Kniphausen Hawk back to its secure home, I think of a line from the Humphrey Bogart film that this bird inspired. As Kasper Gutman, played by Sydney Greenstreet, prepares to dispense with the services of Wilmer (Elisha Cook Jr), he says: ‘I couldn’t be fonder of you if you were my own son. But, well, if you lose a son, it’s possible to get another. There’s only one Maltese Falcon.’
And there ‘ s only one Chatsworth.
Meet the man of the house: The present Duke of Devonshire
All the joy of the country fair
Via the year Chatsworth stages several key events including an Easter Eggstravaganza from April 2-11 and the annual Country Fair from September 3-5 – described by Alan Titchmarsh as the country’s ‘best outdoor showcase’.
There are international pony trials on May 15-16 and a Tudor Fair where you can attempt your arm at archery or sample Elizabethan cookery from May 19-31. Fresh this year will be a spectacular Tulip festival, in conjunction with de Jager bulbs, running alongside the Florabundance floral celebration in the house, during six days from Saturday, May 1.
At the end of the year Chatsworth will be staging a Russian Christmas on the two lower floors of the house. There will also be seasonal shopping and food, special evening openings and gourmet feasts and live Nativity spectacles with animals from the farmyard. Chatsworth is open every day from March fourteen to December 23, 2010.
A one-day Discovery ticket, which permits access to the house, garden and farmyard, costs £15.50 for adults and £9.50 for children (aged four-16 inclusive, under-fours free).
A family Discovery ticket (two adults, up to three children) costs £46.