Visits....  Chatsworth

 An introduction to the history of the garden.

The garden at Chatsworth extends to 105 acres and was created for the 1st Duke of Devonshire in the late 1600s and has been evolving ever since.  The Garden includes many outstanding features from each period, and together they make up one of the most fascinating and historically important gardens in the country.

The garden was created for the 1st Duke of Devonshire in the late 1600s.  The terraces were laid out in a series of gardens and parterres, decorated with formal planting and paths, statues, temples and fountains.  Among the features to have survived from the late seventeenth century design by London and Wise and one can see the Cascadedesigned by Grillet in 1694, Flora's Temple and the statue of Flora, the Canal pond and the Willow Tree fountain.

In the 18th century, the 4th Duke commissioned Lancelot 'Capability' Brown to clear much of the formal garden and create the landscaped park on both sides of the river. The resulting beauty of the park is said to be the inspiration for Pemberley in Jane Austen's book 'Pride and Prejudice', published in 1813.

In the nineteenth century, a close partnership developed between the 6^th Duke of Devonshire and his Head Gardener, Sir Joseph Paxton, which brought Chatsworth renewed glory.   Paxton transformed the garden again, building more than 20 glasshouses, including the Great Conservatory which in turn inspired his work on the 1851 Crystal Palace. He and the Duke sponsored planting collecting expeditions around the world and the greenhouses at Chatsworth still grow some of the rare plants brought back at that time.

He created new streams, waterfalls and the 298 foot high Emperor fountain, which is the highest gravity fed fountain in the world and can emit a jet of water 90 metres into the air.  It emerges in the canal which leads from the house and is the foreground to a beautiful vista of the Derbyshire hills opened up by 'Capability' Brown. Water can be made to run over the roof of the Cascade House and out of the mouths of carved dolphins and fish.

To date the 11th Duke and Duchess have added many new features, including the Serpentine hedge, the maze, cottage garden and the new sensory garden.  The kitchen garden was opened to visitors in 1994, and supplies the house with fruit, herbs and vegetables

Paxton originally constructed the vast rock garden, which was restored, and a new viewpoint constructed, in honour of his bicentenary in 2003

There are 5 miles of walks in the Garden alone, with rare trees and shrubs to savour whilst inside the house you will find magnificent paintings, sculpture, furniture, silver, porcelain and an outstanding library.  Children of all ages will enjoy themselves here with the farmyard, where they can find cows, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, and fish, and of course in the woodland adventure playground.

 Other points of interest if you intend visiting Chatsworth

Greenhouse tours

Chatsworth Gardeners lead private tours of the greenhouses which are not normally open to visitors

Please note that the gravity-fed fountains and waterworks play every day subject to rainfall, but their hours are sometimes restricted in dry weather

Garden Guidebook    Explore the Garden at Chatsworth

This is the updated official guide to the 105 acre Chatsworth Garden and is fully illustrated with colour photographs, maps and plans of suggested walks.

It is the most comprehensive guidebook to the garden ever produced, and it compliments the magnificent illustrated book telling the history of the garden, written by the Duchess of Devonshire.

A paperback book containing 64 pages in English only.  Priced at £3:50

Further information can be obtained from the Chatsworth estate website http://www.chatsworth-house.co.uk