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A Christmas Video Tour of Chatsworth House’s Decorated State Rooms

Home to the Cavendish family since 1549

Linda Acaster
3 min readDec 26, 2021
Screenshot of video of Chatsworth House 2020 Christmas Tour
Screenshot from Chatsworth House Christmas Tour video below via YouTube. (Click on images to enlarge)

Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, England, has been passed through sixteen generations of the Cavendish family since Sir William Cavendish bought the estate and began building a home for himself and his new wife, Bess of Hardwick.

Not just any home would do. It needed to mirror both his rank and to host the royal court during its annual progress through the country. As Treasurer to the King’s Chamber, he worked under Henry VIII at the end of his life, the short reign of his son, Edward VI, and Henry’s infamous elder daughter, “Bloody” Mary I.

The title Duke and Duchess of Devonshire was acquired by a descendent, and succeeding generations remodelled the house and grounds, improving the estate lands which paid for its opulence. It wasn’t to last.

Chatsworth House, south elevation with lake and Emperor Fountain by John Paxton in foreground.
Chatsworth House, south elevation, with Grade II listed Emperor Fountain constructed by Joseph Paxton 1843. Image by Kev747 (Public Domain) via Wikimedia

As with many grand country houses, the pivoting of the country’s economy during the Industrial Revolution, followed by successive death duty taxes, and the social change brought about by two world wars, saw Chatsworth continually having to sell land and goods to stay afloat. These…

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Linda Acaster
Linda Acaster

Written by Linda Acaster

British multi-genre fiction author who haunts historical sites - check out her publication 'Escape Into History'. For novel links: www.lindaacaster.com

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