Chatsworth House at Christmas
From early November, Chatsworth House, Garden and Farmyard are decorated for Christmas. Chatsworth is home to the Dukes of Devonshire and has been passed down through 17 generations Chatsworth House is renowned for its art, landscape and hospitality, and has evolved through the centuries to reflect the tastes, passions and interests of succeeding generations of the Devonshire family.
Today, Chatsworth is cared for by a registered charity, The Chatsworth House Trust, which preserves the house, garden and parkland for everyone to enjoy, and cares for the Devonshire Collections; works of art that span 4,000 year. There are over 25 rooms to explore including the magnificent Painted Hall, regal State Rooms, restored Sketch Galleries and atmospheric Sculpture Gallery.
Chatsworth comprises a Grade I listed house and stables, a 105-acre garden, a 1,822-acre park, a farmyard and adventure playground, and one of Europe’s most significant private art collections. It has been home to seventeen generations of the Devonshire family for nearly five centuries. Each has contributed to its careful evolution and preservation, creating the house, garden, estate, and collections we enjoy today.
The History of Chatsworth House - Began with Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, better known as Bess of Hardwick (circa 1521-1608). A native of Derbyshire and from a modest background, she grew to become the second most powerful woman in Elizabethan England after the Queen. Bess married four times, and it was with her second husband, Sir William Cavendish that the Cavendish line, which continues today, was established. When Bess married Sir William, she persuaded him to sell the former monastic lands he had amassed and move to her home county. Despite its isolated location and the risk of flooding, they bought Chatsworth manor for £600 in 1549, and in 1552 began to build the first house on the site. The Hunting Tower, built in the 1580s, still stands on the hill above Chatsworth. Mary, Queen of Scots, was a prisoner at Chatsworth at various times between 1569 and 1584. Her lodgings were on the east side of the house where the rooms, although changed beyond recognition, are still called the Queen of Scots Apartments. Bess also built Hardwick Hall, her surviving masterpiece. One of the greatest houses of the Elizabethan age, it has a unique collection of 16th and 17th-century embroideries, tapestries and furniture. It belonged to the Cavendish family until 1957, when it was given to the government in-lieu of death duties, and is now a National Trust property.
Gardens at Chatsworth House - Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown redesigned the landscape at Chatsworth in Derbyshire for the 4th Duke of Devonshire (1720-1764) from the late 1750s until 1765. The park covers 1000 acres and is enclosed by a 15 km long dry stone wall and deer fence. Brown’s work at Chatsworth came relatively early in his career as an independent landscape architect. The famous waterworks include the 300-year-old Cascade, the Willow Tree Fountain and the impressive gravity-fed Emperor Fountain came much later. As well as the Maze, the Rockery and the Rose, Cottage and Kitchen Gardens, there are also over five miles of walks with rare trees, shrubs, streams and ponds to discover.
Whats includedLuxury Escorted coach travel with experienced driver and courier
USB charging points at every seat
Free WiFi on board the coach
Comfortable seats with extra legroom
Entry into Chatsworth House and Gardens at Christmas
