Chatsworth House

We have seen a great number of royal and other palaces and great houses in the past several months. For me, Chatsworth was the best, all-around, so far. It is by no means the largest, oldest, most important, historically, architecturally or artisitically. It's art is just so-so. But it's been lived in and cared for by the same family for 16 generations, and everything in the place is authentic, real, and genuine. No "period" stuff. The care is evident in the narrative and in the renovations now underway. And the gardens...Jospeph Paxton's gardens are not nearly what they were in Victorian times...the Crystal Palace had its origins here....but they are by far the best and most interesting I have seen yet, anywhere. I'll have to do a separate post on them.

View from the gardens

Entry hall; "apotheosis of Julius Caesar" on the ceiling (huh?)

State bedroom; reserved for the Monarch

Really nice character log in the study

Library

Dining room, where Queen Victoria had her first meal with the 
grown-ups, age 13

Now there's an antler chandelier!

Music room

Sculpture hall

Artsy shot of the fountains and grand canal

In the gift shoppe: one of the items you see all over the UK

is the "Keep Calm and Carry On" saying from WWII, on

mugs, fridge magnets, mousepads, and everywhere else...