Pemberley— I mean Chatsworth

This week, The Mum suggested I do some sight-seeing, since her Mum was up for the week. So, I took Wednesday off to drive up to the Peak District to see Chatsworth House, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

The house is beautiful! Not only is it full of beautiful paintings, sculpture and furniture from so many different time-periods. I saw Egyptian and Ancient Greek statues, neo-classical sculpture, Elizabethan paintings, and baroque tables. There is also an astonishing collection of modern art (unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten to photograph the contemporary pieces). The Dukes and Duchesses of Devonshire have been great collectors of art through the years. In addition to the art, the grand house is also decorated with painted ceilings, carved columns, mirrors and inlaid wooden tables.

My favourite exhibition in the house, however, was the rooms that were centered around the life of the Dowager Duchess (the late Duke's widow), who was formerly Deborah Mitford, one of the notorious 'Mitford Girls'. Of course, I had no idea who the Mitford Girls were, but I learned from the exhibit that they were 6 sisters who reached adulthood in the 20's and 30's and who each made a reputation for themselves. One of them was a close friend of Hitler and another eloped with a Communist. The eldest Mitford was Nancy Mitford, author of Love in a Cold Climate. Anyway, the Dowager Duchess has had a pretty interesting life!

If you've seen the film 'The Duchess' with Keira Knightly, then you've seen Chatsworth. It was the home of Georgiana Spencer when she was Duchess! Here's me with Georgiana.

The gardens are also beautiful! They aren't manicured like Versailles because Capability Brown did the gardens and he liked to make gardens look like idyllic pastoral scenes that blend into the surrounding wilderness. There are many beautiful ponds and some beautiful gravity-fed fountains like 'The Cascade'. I took most of the afternoon exploring the gardens, but I decided that I should go on a tour to get some more information. Unfortunately, the tours were booked up for the next couple of hours. So, I got myself an icecream cone and a biography of 'The Mitford Girls' to pass the time. That book is great so far!

The tour was lovely. We rode around on a little golf cart and the tour guide told us about all the fountains and the site of the massive glass greenhouse that was the inspiration for Queen Victoria's 'Crystal Palace'.

I finished my time in the Peak District with some pizza in the local village of Bakewell. I steered clear of the pubs, as the England-Slovenia World Cup Match had just finished and the pub-goers were celebrating England's victory.

Chatsworth was really nice (but it would have been nicer if I'd have gone with someone). Oh well, I'll have tons of fun visiting English sites with friends in only 3 weeks!!!