June 2 Day 26
On our way back towards London, we stopped to see Chatsworth House. I don't know why they refer to this as a house. Manor house or hall doesn't even fit. Nothing short of a palace describes the huge, stately home. This has been owned by the Duke of Devonshire for over three hundred years, currently inhabited by the 12th Duke of Devonshire. The original Duke built this home specifically to recieve the visit from the King and Queen in the late 1600's. Every room was designed and built specifically to recieve the monarch and make him feel at home. The only problem was that the king never bothered to come for a visit. The only king that ever visited this place was King George V in 1913. Princess Victoria also visited this home when she was about 13 years old, but never when she was queen.
This home has been used in numerous films, including Pride and Prejudice, (the 2005 movie version) the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes TV series, and many others. It's easy to see why. Little has changed to the public eye in the last couple of hundred years, yet it still looks magnificent and grand. Where at one point homes like these were very private and only visited by nobility and royalty, it is now open to the public for their enjoyment. THe day we were there we saw thousands of people flocking to the beautiful grounds for a family day out. There is no charge for wandering around the hundreds of acres of beautiful park-like grounds surrounding the home and gardens, so the public comes here with their families for a nice relaxing day out. We discovered that this week is a late midterm break for the kids, which is why I believe it was so crowded. But that didn't bother us so much, and it's nice to see the public enjoying this once private place.
Chatsworth House
