A little Christmas surprise! I’m taking you to a place that is very dear to my heart, as it is tied to many happy memories. A few years ago, I lived very close to the Peak District in England, not far from the famous Chatsworth House, which I used to visit from time to time at weekends.
I travel to England very often, as I feel very much at home there, and in 2023 we ventured a little further north than our usual Gloucestershire for a small pilgrimage at the end of November. I felt a very strong need to return to certain places that have had a profound impact on my life, and Chatsworth House is one of them. And the timing was perfect, as the house had just been decorated for Christmas!
As a side note, Chatsworth House is now often associated with Pemberley, the mythical home of Mr Darcy in Pride & Prejudice (in the version starring Keira Knightley). What’s amusing is that I was living in the area when the film was shot there. Even though, personally, Pemberley is more closely linked for me with Lyme Park (in the BBC version), Chatsworth has nonetheless become a symbol for many Jane Austen devotees.
The house, set in the heart of Derbyshire, is inseparable from the Cavendish family, who have lived there since the 16th century. Dukes of Devonshire from generation to generation, the Cavendishes shaped the house as we know it today through major building works and a strong commitment to art collecting. Over the centuries, they assembled major works that give this magnificent building the air of a lived-in art gallery.
One encounters paintings by Rembrandt, Van Dyck and Veronese, classical sculptures (which I will mention again a little further down), old drawings, not to mention the painted ceilings, which are particularly impressive. Despite its prestige, Chatsworth nonetheless remains a great “house”, always conceived as a place to be lived in.
Chatsworth is also linked to another colourful family: the Mitford sisters. Their father was the brother-in-law of the 9th Duke of Devonshire, and Deborah Mitford would later become Duchess of Devonshire. She played an essential role in the life of the house, particularly after the Second World War, by opening it widely to the public, breathing new energy into it and modernising the estate. There is also a connection with the Kennedy family: Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, JFK’s sister, married William Cavendish, heir to the dukedom, in 1944. Both, however, would meet a tragic fate…
On a more festive note, each year at Christmas the estate adopts a specific theme. When we were there, it was Palace of Advent, transforming Chatsworth into a full-scale Advent calendar. Each room held its own little surprise, with a specific décor carefully staged in keeping with the architecture and history of the place.
As you can see, the emphasis was on large Christmas trees, staircases and door frames lavishly decorated, combined with more subtle elements such as suspended paper decorations. Some rooms were also more clearly designed with children in mind, particularly around the sorting and delivery of letters to Father Christmas…
In the evening, a sound-and-light show brought the theme to life on the façade facing the water, providing a magical conclusion to this wonderful experience. It was also very pleasant to wander through the gardens at nightfall, in a warm and convivial atmosphere, to enjoy a coffee and (re)discover the beautiful outbuildings, converted into small stalls where one could eat, drink a Christmas hot chocolate or buy lovely souvenirs. By way of comparison, I almost prefer the decorations at the Château de Villandry in France, which I also invite you to discover here. I find them almost even more enchanting…
I took great pleasure in seeing again some of the emblematic rooms of this beautiful house, such as the grand staircase and the library, as well as famous sculptures, notably The Veiled Vestal by Raffaele Monti (which can be glimpsed in the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice). At the time, the bust of Mr Darcy that also appears in the film (or rather that of the actor Matthew Macfadyen) had even been displayed in the sculpture gallery! Today, it can be purchased in the estate shop.
At Chatsworth, I also very much enjoy strolling through the gardens surrounding the house, the kitchen garden, and walking as far as the tower-shaped folly that overlooks the entire park. I like to stop for a light refreshment in the outbuildings and simply take in these beautiful, timeless and carefully preserved landscapes, not forgetting to visit the surrounding villages, which are also well worth the detour.
I hope you enjoyed this enchanted interlude in one of the most beautiful and most famous houses in England!
