Scrumpdillyicious: Chatsworth House & Gardens in the Peak District

Britain's best loved iconic stately home, Chatsworth House is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to the Cavendish family since the 16th-century, and currently home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Set in the heart of the Peak District in Derbyshire, Chatsworth House has over 30 rooms to explore, from the magnificent Painted Hall painted by Louis Laguerre, to the family-used chapel, regal State Rooms and beautiful Sculpture Gallery. Chatsworth also houses the Devonshire Collections, one of Europe’s most significant art collections, which is continually added to, encompassing Old Masters to contemporary ceramics and artefacts from Ancient Egypt to cutting edge modern sculpture.

Art extends beyond the walls of the house into the carefully created and expansive garden complex, which have also undergone significant changes through the years, and offer spectacular water features such as the Cascade and the great Emperor Fountain. This fountain is an impressive centrepiece of the Canal Pond, which leads straight up to the front of the house, and is also remarkable due to how it is powered solely by gravity. These days, the house is no longer owned by the Cavendish family itself but by the Chatsworth House Trust, a registered charity established in 1981. All income from admissions, membership, sponsorship and donations goes directly to the charity to be reinvested in the conservation and improvement of Chatsworth.

Arriving for a wonderful day, we explored Chatsworth House followed by a 45-minute Garden Buggy Tour exploring the ever-evolving 105-acre garden, famous for its rich history, water features, enormous sculptures, arboretum, Victorian rock garden, grotto, rose garden, kitchen and cutting garden, and much more. Having made reservations for lunch at Chatsworth's Cavendish restaurant, set in the picturesque 18th-century stables, we enjoyed a delicious lunch of seasonal dishes made with ingredients from Chatsworth and local farmers and suppliers. One of the most glorious stately homes in Britain, Chatsworth is indisputably the jewel in the crown of the Peak District.

The magnificent Baroque Painted Hall is the largest and grandest room

in the original house, by famed French decorative painter Louis Laguerre

The Oak Room panelling is from a German monastery

Inset into the panels are views from the 6th Duke's holidays and paintings of his dogs

The ornate altarpiece, constructed of local alabaster and black marble mined from nearby quarries,

is a tour-de-force of architecture and interior decoration by Chatsworth’s master carver Samuel Watson

Both the walls and ceiling were painted by Louis Laguerre

Painting of Elizabethan Chatsworth built by Sir William Cavendish and his wife

Bess of Hardwick, which was demolished and rebuilt in 1687

A special exhibition celebrated the legacy of the late Duchess Deborah Devonshire

and the Devonshire Collections, and how they inspired the Spring Summer 2024 collection

of famous English fashion designer Erdem Moralioglu

Collage of Devonshire Collection fabric samples from the Spring Summer 2024 collection of Erdem

Gorgeous cocktail dress by Erdem

Hand-embroidered silk evening dress by Erdem

State Drawing Room with with tapestries by the Mortlake Workshop in London, mid 1630s

The State Music Room with embossed leather wallpaper

Jan van der Vaart painted ceiling from around 1723

Sculpture of Fawn and Putti from the Duke's collection

A group portrait of 'The Acheson Sisters' by John Singer Sargent

who visited Chatsworth to discuss the commission during the winter of 1901–1902

The Long Library with ornate ceiling and plasterwork by Edward Goudge (active late 17th century)

and painted by Antonio Verrio (1636-1707)

Portion of the Duke's Library

The Great Dining Room at Chatsworth House was completed in 1832 and used by the family a few times a year for exclusive, formal dinners and for Princess Victoria when she was only 13

Beautiful French Tureen on the sideboard in the Dining Room

The Grand Sculpture Gallery with a collection of early 19th century European sculpture that remains one of the most important in the world still in its original location

The Wounded Achilles by Filippo Albacini, 1825

Canova's 'Endymion' of a sleeping shepherd boy accompanied by his dog,

commissioned by the 6th Duke in 1819 — the boys body was highly polished to appear as though

the moonlight was beaming upon him

Shepherd boy's dog by Canova

Achilles by George Rennie, after the Greek original

Copy of lion sculpture that Canova made for the tomb of Pope Clement XIII at St Peter’s in Rome

Garden sculpture with the wood and glass Great Conservatory behind designed by Joseph Paxton in 1838, protects figs, peaches, nectarines, and various shrubs from the unpredictable Derbyshire climate

Chatsworth House shop, flower stand and café

Stopping for a hot sausage roll and cup of tea before embarking on the Buggy Tour of the gardens

Topiary Gazebo and wild flowers

Victorian Rock Garden

The 45-minute Buggy Garden Tour of the garden's 105-acres

The rock garden was begun by the 6th Duke of Devonshire in 1842, as a souvenir

of the Alpine splendour he'd encountered on the Grand Tour

The Stone Grotto with a large rock arch is made of rough rectangular blocks of gritstone

Reflection of the Arboretum in the water

The Arcadia Garden

Fountain and The Serpentine Garden

Originally the site for Paxton's Great Conservatory, this garden is now home to a large yew maze

The Kitchen Garden

Chatsworth House Stable Block stands at the head of a long avenue that climbs up a hillside to the north of the house and is entered through a central triumphal archway topped by a pediment