Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, England is about a 30 minute drive away from where I live.  It is also a house which most schools in the area organise trips to.  I myself remember going here when I was at school.

It is also one of the few places where you are allowed to take photographs inside the building.  However many of the photos I took did not come out.  Being prepared for this I took two pictures of almost everything (one with flash on and one without).  However even this was not enough and for some reason neither of the pictures of some of the rooms came out.  But fortunately there were a few which did and some of these are here for you to look through.

Hidden away in the Derbyshire Dales (seen above through the typical British summer rain) Chatsworth House is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

The Stables above have been wonderfully converted into shops and a restaurant.  On the walls of the restaurant there are pictures showing how the building was converted from the garage it had become to the lavish restaurant.  And all this before you even get to the house itself.

The original house was built by Bess of Hardwick in the 16th century.  Bess of Hardwick also built Hardwick Hall which can be seen from my house.  Bess was of the Cavendish family and it is in this family that the house has remained throughout its time.

There are many rooms in Chatsworth open to the public and for an small extra fee you can also visit The Queen of Scots Rooms.  Each of the rooms throughout the house is beautifully furnished and a pleasure to look at.

One of the most breathtaking rooms at Chatsworth is The Painted Hall (above).  A little touching up of the photo brought some colour back to it, but unfortunately you cannot make out the ceiling paintings in this picture.  You can just make out some of the pictures in the photo below but again the poor quality is obvious.  No amount of touching up with the computer can make it any better than this I am afraid.

Below is a selection of pictures which did come out of some of the interior rooms at Chatsworth.  Hover over the picture to see what the room is.  In particular look closely at the last two.  The first of these is of a door within a door - the second is a postcard of the violin on the inside door.  It is one of the most famous things about Chatsworth.  Look below the postcard of the violin to see why.

The Sketch Galleries (below) have many modern portraits in them including one of Kathleen Kennedy, the sister of President Kennedy.  Kathleen Kennedy was Marchioness of Hartington for a brief time after marrying into the family.

The violin on the door within the door of the State Music Room is the one thing most people remember about Chatsworth because the violin is not real.  Nor is the door.  The whole thing is a very realistic painting and the only thing real on the whole thing is the door handle.  The panelling of the wood and the violin is one of the best paintings I have ever seen.  You cannot get very close to it but even if you are it is hard to believe that it is not real.  The photo and postcard do not do this feature justice - you have to be there to see it and even then you believe it is real.  I know I did since I was looking something else up in the guidebook when I heard someone say it was a painting.  I had not read that part yet and had to look again.  Even then it is hard to believe.

Chatsworth is often referred to as a treasure house.  After touring through it, it is easy to see why.  Each room is filled with beautiful furniture and a host of other treasures are waiting to be seen in each room that you enter.

The grounds of Chatsworth are just as beautiful.  Since this page is already very long I am putting the pictures of the grounds on a separate page.  Just follow the link below.