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| Chatsworth House |
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| Fiona at Chatsworth House |
So, after our visit to Long Eaton, Fiona took me for a delightful drive through Derbyshire to
Chatsworth House. As the website says...
Chatsworth House is a stately home in Derbyshire, England, in the Derbyshire Dales 3.5 miles north-east of Bakewell and 9 miles west of Chesterfield. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has been home to the Cavendish family since 1549.
Apparently it was built by the first Duke of Devonshire in the hope that King William III might come and visit, which he never did. So much of the building was constructed around this thought, but it was all in vain. They were celebrating the overthrow of Catholicism in the reign of James II.... (Boooo....!!!)
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| This was the throne room just in case the King and Queen should ever visit... all in vain because they never came!!!! |
We both took the audio tour which explained both the history and the many art works and artefacts that were part of the house.
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| Stable courtyard with coffee shops and restaurants. |
There were a few skeletons rattling in the closet.....
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| Family Tree |
The 5th Duke of Devonshire shared a cosy little
ménage à trois with both his wife (Georgiana) and his wife's best friend (Bess). The next generation, the 6th Earl of Devonshire, never married but spent all the family fortunes...
Here are some pics of the inside of the house :
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| The Oak Room |
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| The Great Stairs |
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| The Chapel |
There were many rooms very impressive rooms but too many to include them all here.
The outside gardens were lovely too...
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| Cascade Fountain |
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| Emperor Fountain |
So, it was a lovely day spent driving through the delightful English country side, then topped off with a very educational visit to an English stately home.
On the way home we set Fiona's GPS to take us home and we went via the M1... fortunately the traffic wasn't too bad. We went through the village of Chesterfield, and the traffic was a little thick through there.... Fiona told me to look out for the steeple that was bent, because that was what Chesterfield was famous for... I wasn't sure about what she meant until I saw this...
(Have to admit it's a Google Image - I wasn't quick enough to capture it!)
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| Chesterfield Crooked Steeple |
So, we arrived home safely after a delightful day out, just experiencing what life in the English countryside is like. Thanks Fiona, for giving me a couple of days without the stress of driving. And for showing the real heart of life in the Midlands.
Tomorrow I'm back on the road again and off to Tynemouth. And back to my relationship with my GPS. Hopefully I'm going straight up the M1, so it should be straightforward.... but as we all know, there's no such thing in the life of Wattle Wanderings!!!!!
Moira, your pics and commentary were gorgeous! And those beautiful blue skies. Wow ! Chatsworth House adds a new dimension to "there are many rooms in my father's house" !!
ReplyDeleteThere certainly were many rooms Meggsie. Imagine the heating cost!!! One of the commentaries on the tour was from a girl whose school was moved there during the war and she said she didn’t remember any of the grandeur, only the cold!!!
ReplyDeleteMy fathers family claim to be descendants from Duke of Devonshire of Chatsworth House, but cant quite verify as its the "other side of the sheets".....the rumours continue.
ReplyDeleteWooo hooo Maria.... come on, cough up some more details!!!!
DeleteAren't those stately homes just incredible? It really explains why you needed staff to help look after them. Upstairs/downstairs as in Dowton Abbey makes more sense when you see the actual houses
ReplyDeleteYes, lucky we've watched so many shows like Downton Abbey and Upstairs downstairs!!!
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