I’m sure those of you who enjoyed the 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride 
and Prejudice would love a leisurely day at Chatsworth House, the setting for 
Mr. Darcy’s “Pemberley.” In fact, Chatworth House often wins recognition as 
England’s most popular country home, hosting 300,000+ tourists each season 
on their 35,000-acre estate in North Derbyshire on the River Derwent. 
Construction on the present mansion began in 1553 by the Cavendish family, 
who have been the earls (and later Dukes of Devonshire) since that time. 
Perhaps the most famous was the Sixth Duke (known as the “Bachelor Duke”) 
who was an incredibly energetic and wealthy traveler and visionary. In 1811 (at 
the age of 21) he inherited the title, Chatsworth, and 7 other major estates in 
England and Ireland that comprised a massive 200,000 acres! I think even Mr. 
Darcy’s wealth would have been dwarfed by the Bachelor Duke’s holdings. Many 
famous people are associated with Chatsworth house, including Mary, Queen of 
Scots (who was imprisoned there several times), and Sir Joseph Paxton, who was
a gardener at Chatworth and also designed London’s Crystal Palace. If you have 
the chance to travel a bit in England, consider a day at Chatsworth. If that’s not 
an option, but you’d like to see more, Chatsworth House is the subject of a 3-part 
documentary, Chatsworth, produced by BBC and broadcast as Chatsworth 
House in the U.S. by PBS last year (2012). There are many fascinating things to see there…such as this life-sized painting of a violin on a door (but both the violin and the door is simply part of one very realistic painting)! 
For our daughter, who had just earned her M.A. in literature and loves to write novels set in England, our trip was an especially treasured time of both pleasure and learning!
“When wisdom enters into your heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto your soul, discretion shall preserve you, understanding shall keep you.” (Proverbs 2:10-11)
“The heart of the prudent gets knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge” (Proverbs 18:15).
Summer Setting 