Chatsworth House is one of very few English country houses still owned by the family that built it. A brief history of this family – their triumphs, their trials and their scandals – offers snapshot of life in the uppermost echelons of society that spans over 500 years.
It’s also a great place to visit.
Here’s our guide to the history of the house, the Cavendish family that owns it and how to visit.
Matriarch
The story of Chatsworth House begins with the formidable matriarch, Bess of Hardwick. Bess was born in 1527 and over the course of her 81-year life rose through the ranks of the British nobility by marrying four husbands, each more powerful than the last, and outliving them all.
With her second husband, Sir William Cavendish, Bess bought Chatsworth Manor in 1549 at a cost of £600. The manor was nowhere near grand enough for Bess and the couple immediately set about building a large country house on the land.
Bess was often referred to as the second most powerful woman in England, after Queen Elizabeth I, and she had a complicated relationship with the Queen.
On the one hand, Bess’s grandaughter, Arbella Stuart had a legimitate claim to Elizabeth’s famously unstable throne. On the other, Bess did Elizabeth the great service of acting as custodian of Mary, Queen of Scots, who was intermittently held prisoner at Chatsworth House.
The rooms in which Mary was held at Chatsworth were located on the east side of the house and are still known as the Queen of Scots Apartments although their interiors are dramatically changed.
Through The Generations
Chatsworth House passed through generations of the influential Cavendish family and, as is common in aristocratic families, some individuals built on their inheritance while others did their best to squander it.
The 2nd Earl of Devonshire stands out in this regard. Cavendish died aged just 35 from what was described as “excessive indulgence in good living” (1) and left little but debts and lawsuits in his wake.
1st Duke of Devonshire
It was the 1st Duke of Devonshire (born the 4th Earl) who transformed Chatsworth House from an Elizabethan manor to the stately country house we see today. The 1st Duke was elected MP for Derbyshire aged 21 and, just like his Grandfather before him, was described as “a libertine both in principle and practice” who ran himself into debt in his late twenties and fled to France to avoid his creditors. (2) By the time the 1st Duke inherited his title in 1683, Chatsworth was in a state of disrepair.
The 1st Duke employed William Talman to design and execute a complete remodelling of the south front of Chatsworth House. Talman’s vision for Chatsworth was based on an unexecuted design by Italian architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini, intended for the Louvre in Paris.
The 1st Duke subsequently transformed the East Front, West front and finally North Front of Chatsworth but remodelling only offered so much excitement and the 1st Duke took a leading role in British politics.
A prominent Whig, the 1st Duke was known as an agitator, a staunch anti-Catholic who openly denounced the workings of the court of Charles II and later that of James II. Fined and imprisoned for his behaviour at James’ court, the 1st Duke was a key contributor to the Glorious Revolution (1688-1689) and was one of seven men who signed an invitation to William of Orange to invade England and take the throne. (3)
The 1st Duke’s contribution to Chatsworth House can be felt most keenly in the chapel. Completed in 1693, the chapel features an breath-taking reredos (large altarpiece) carved from local alabaster by Derbyshire craftsman, Samuel Watson.
The monumental changes the 1st Duke made to Chatsworth House were completed in 1707 but the 1st Duke didn’t have long to enjoy them as he died a few months later.
4th Duke Of Devonshire
The next few Dukes of Devonshire remained active in British politics but made no changes to Chatsworth House, perhaps unable to improve on what the 1st Duke had created.
The 4th Duke, who was for a short time Prime Minister of Great Britain left the house alone but left his own mark on Chatsworth by remodelling the park and garden.
Enlisting the help of famous landscape architect Capability Brown, the 4th Duke changed the view from Chatsworth, razing stables, offices and a whole village of cottages to ensure the scene from his windows was as pleasing as possible.
Gone were the over-pruned formal gardens of the 17th century and 18th century gardens of cultivated wilderness were introduced. The 4th Duke’s marriage to Lady Charlotte Boyle, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Burlington, is also notable as Charlotte was the heiress of five huge estates and a staggering collection of books, drawings, paintings and sculpture.
5th Duke Of Devonshire
The 5th Duke of Devonshire hardly visited Chatsworth but did make one addition to the property – the Blue Drawing Room. In the Regency period, the drawing room had become the centre of the country house and the 5th Duke had architect, Carr of York transform the space into a haven of Louis Seize elegance.
The drawing room was hung with family portraits from every period, an interesting flourish considering the 5th Duke’s own unconventional home life.
In 1774, the 5th Duke married Lady Georgina Spencer but this was not a happy match. Famous for her beauty, wit and active role in politics, the Duchess maddened the Duke with her socialite lifestyle and headstrong ways.
The 5th Duke retaliated by inviting his mistress, Lady Elizabeth Foster to live with the couple creating an uncomfortable menage a trois. After the Duchess’s death, the 5th Duke married Lady Foster.
6th Duke Of Devonshire
The 6th Duke, perhaps recoiling from the type of domestic unrest he must have witnessed as a child, preferred to stay single and dedicated his time and energy to transforming Chatsworth House.
Known as the ‘Bachelor Duke’, the 6th Duke enlisted Sir Jeffry Wyatville to realise his dream of making Chatsworth Hou