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| Chatsworth House |
Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, North Carolina, is sometimes referred to as a palace of American royalty, specifically the Vanderbilt family. Biltmore is a wildly popular tourist destination, one of the top destinations in the Southeastern United States.
Chatsworth House, set in England’s beautiful Peak District National Park, is the palace of actual royalty and also a top tourist destination in this corner of England. Insofar as Biltmore and Chatsworth are grand houses and were built by self-made persons (families, at least), the similarities and differences are interesting to note.
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| This…was actually the stables. |
Wait a second, didn’t I say Chatsworth was the house of English royalty? How then was it built by self-made persons? That’s because it was built in the mid 1500’s by Bess of Hardwick, who was born a commoner but died the wealthiest woman in Britain. She made her money the old-fashioned way: she married the right people. Her first husband, Robert Barlow, died young leaving her destitute, but she wisely and shrewdly attracted the interests of Sir William Cavendish, who would later gain the title of Duke of Devonshire. Bess was defacto royalty from then on, a choice pick for her third and fourth husbands.
Like Biltmore, Chatsworth is stately and sprawling and full of incredible period furnishings and Cavendish family artifacts, including some interesting pieces from the scientist in the family, Sir Henry Cavendish, best known for discovering Hydrogen. Like Biltmore, Chatsworth is surrounded by thousands of acres of carefully manicured grounds and gardens. And like Biltmore, Chatsworth is still owned by the family that originally built it.
Unlike Biltmore, Chatsworth is still an actual residence, one of the homes of the current Duke of Devonshire, and also unlike Biltmore (very thankfully), photography is not only allowed but welcomed and practically encouraged. So enjoy these pictures of some of the more interesting things we found in Chatsworth House, and if you are passing through central England, Chatsworth House–and a stay in the nearby village of Baslow–is well worth a stop.
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| The Dining Room (Heather, this is the kind of Christmas spread we’re expecting) |
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| The Music Room: The Violin Door is Actually a Painting |
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| The Veiled Virgin, Entirely Marble, Even the “Veil” |
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| The Maze in the Chatsworth Gardens |
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| Bust of Bubba Blue |
