In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Chatsworth like this:
CHATSWORTH, an extra-parochial tract, containing a grand seat of the Duke of Devonshire, in Bakewell district, Derby; on the river Derwent, 3½ miles NE of Bakewell. Pop., 53. Houses, 8. The domain was held for the Crown at the Conquest by William Peveril; passed to the Leches and the Agards; and was purchased, in the 16th century, by Sir William Cavendish. ...
A quadrangular mausion, defended by towers, was founded on it by Sir William, and completed by his widow, the famous Countess of Shrewsbury; was the prison, for several years, of Mary Queen of Scots; was the prison also of Marshal Tallard, taken at Blenheim; was held alternately by the parliamentarians and the royalists in the civil wars; and was, for some time, the abode of Hobbes of Malmsbury, as family tutor, and the place where he wrote his ' ' Wonders of the Peak;" but has entirely disappeared. The present mansion was chiefly built in 1687-1706, by the first Duke of Devonshire, after designs by Talman and Wren, but underwent an extension of its north wing, subsequent to 1820, after designs by Wyatville; and it was visited in 1768 by Christian VII., in 1816 by Archduke Nicholas, in 1832 by Princess Victoria, and in 1843 by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. It is a magnificent pile, fit for a king; and is often called the " Palace of the Peak. " The plan is nearly square; the chief façade measures 750 feet, or, including terraces, 1, 200 feet; the base is rusticated; the upper part has fluted Ionic pillars and pilasters, surmounted by sculptured frieze and open balustrade; and the recent extension displays a compound of Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian features. The great hall measures 60 feet by 27; the music-room, 35 feet by 30; the grand drawing-room, 48 feet by 28; the dining-room, 58 feet by 30; the library, 90 feet by 22; and other apartments in proportion; and all possess great wealth of embellishment and furnishing. The park is upwards of 11 miles in circuit; includes high variety of natural feature, from vale to mountain; and abounds in beauties both of contour and of art. The grounds contain famous gardens, covering about 12 acres; a grand conservatory, 300 feet long, 145 feet wide, and 65 feet high, the original of the Crystal Palace; trees planted by the Emperor Nicholas, the Duchess of Kent, and Queen Victoria; an arboretum of trees and shrubs; grand water-works, one of which throws a jet to the height of 260 feet; and about 2, 000 head of deer. See Edensor.
Chatsworth through time
Chatsworth is now part of Derbyshire Dales district. Click here for graphs and data of how Derbyshire Dales has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Chatsworth itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Chatsworth in Derbyshire Dales | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4801
Date accessed: 19th April 2024
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