Chatsworth House and Gardens Tour

Highlights

• In the recent film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Mcfadyen, Chatsworth was used as Pemberley, the residence of Mr Darcy. It is believed that Jane Austen actually based her idea of Pemberley on Chatsworth House as she wrote the novel while in Bakewell. Chatsworth was also mentioned in the novel as one of the estates Elizabeth Bennet visits before arriving at Pemberley. Visitors will recognise the grand staircase and ceiling of the Painted Hall where Lizzie and the Gardiners start their tour of Pemberley, the beautiful veiled Vestral Virgin in the Sculpture Gallery and the bust of Mr Darcy in the Orangery shop.
• Death Comes to Pemberley, a TV drama starring Matthew Rhys and Anna Maxwell Martin, was filmed at Chatsworth in July 2013 and premiered on Boxing Day that year. Several rooms including the Painted Hall, Great Dining Room, Sculpture Gallery and Oak Room featured as Elizabeth and Darcy's house, while the beautiful South and West facades of the house were used to depict Pemberley's famous exteriors. The Gardens and Woods also appear as locations.
• The Duchess, a major film starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes, was based on Georgiana Spencer Cavendish, the infamous Duchess of Devonshire in the 18th Century, who lived at Chatsworth as wife of the Fifth Duke of Devonshire. Several scenes were filmed here. Georgiana's mineral collection is still on display at Chatsworth and her son Hart famously contributed much to the art collection and he is responsible for many of the features we enjoy at Chatsworth today.
• The Wolfman is an adaptation of the 1940s classic in which an American man is cursed by a werewolf's bite and stars Anthony Hopkins and Benico del Toro. Chatsworth was transformed into a neglected horror scene, a huge undertaking requiring months of preparation and planning, around 200 crew members and five weeks of filming. With mud smeared on the windows, vines and creepers draped from the roof, crumbling statues in the grounds and rough moorland turf over the lawns, the house was almost unrecognisable.
• The house has over 30 rooms to explore, with the magnificent Painted Hall, Library, Great Dining Room, Sculpture Gallery and guest bedrooms being particularly popular with film crews. The regal State Rooms and newly restored Sketch Galleries are also a must-see. Chatsworth is also home to one of Europe's most significant art collections.
• In the Gardens, the famous waterworks include the 300 year old Cascade, the Squirting Willow Tree Fountain and the impressive Emperor Fountain. Visitors can enoy the Maze, Rockery and Rose, Cottage and Kitchen Gardens, as well as over five miles of walks showcasing rare trees, shrubs, streams and ponds.