Having stayed at Cambridge for 8 nights, it was a bit of a shock to
the system to be back living out of a suitcase but it didn't really
take very long to pack up and leave our accommodation in Derby
(after first having breakfast there).
Our first visit today was supposed to have been Roche Abbey but
Satoshi wanted to go to Chatsworth House. When
we arrived, we found that we had to pay £32 each (about $64 each!).
Oh well, it's only money! It has to be said that it was worth it.
Chatsworth House is yet another example of a beautiful country
house. We were surprised and happy to find that we were allowed to
take photos (which turned out to be around 300 between us).
Chatsworth House was built in 1549 and it has been enlarged and
altered over the years.
Chatsworth House is very impressive...
oh, wait... that photo is only the stables!
This is the House!
The Painted Hall. The painting is by Louis Laguerre between
1687 and 1694. It depicts scenes from the life of Julius
Caesar. You can experience a 360° view of this room here.
Caesar is the guy with a star on his head.
A closer view of Caesar
This statue is Egyptian and dates to c.1380BC
The Oak Room
Each of the carvings on the panelling was different.
The Chapel
A statue of "Justice" on the right side of the altar piece
above
The ceiling of the Chapel
Set within the altar is an eight foot tall bronze statue of
Saint Bartholomew (2006) by the contemporary British artist
Damien Hirst. Tradition holds that the martyr was flayed
to death. He holds his skin as well as a scalpel and a pair of
scissors. I'm not sure that I would want to be looking at this
during a church service but, as there was no ecclesiastical
furniture, it seems that the chapel is no longer used for
worship.
The Painted Hall from the Great Stairs
There were several of these lamps lighting the staircase.
View of Chatsworth
from the East, about 1703 Jan Siberechts (1627- about 1703). This painting shows the view visitors to
Chatsworth would have experienced during the time of the 1st
Duke of Devonshire. It gives a full and detailed depiction
of the 1st Duke's recently completed house, and terraced
garden, with its formal parterres and complex of waterworks.
It includes the new Cascade House, all set within the
Derwent Valley. It is a rare record in colour of his
achievement here. Much of this Baroque garden was to be
swept away in the 1700s to be superseded by a more
naturalistic one.
The State Apartment
I'm sorry that this photo is a little grainy. It was taken
several metres away. This violin is actually a Trompe-l'œil
painting, it's not real! The door is part of the painting
too.
The State Music Room (the violin above is behind the doorway
above)
The State Bedchamber
The State Closet
A Soap Dish
"A Man in Oriental Costume" by Rembrandt 1639
The South Sketch Gallery
I don't know the details of this painting, I just liked it!
Looking at the chandelier from below.
Looking up from the Oak Stairs
The paintings near the Oak Stairs
The Ante Library
The Library
The Great Dining Room
These robes, worn at the 1937 coronation, were displayed on
the Dining Room table!
The Sculpture Gallery
The hand of one of the sculptures - amazingly life-like!
This item in the shop was labelled: "Mr Darcy as played by
Matthew Mcfadyen in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and
Prejudice. Please do not kiss!" It appeared to be made of
plastic!
The Cascades
This Cascade was
built for the 1st Duke of Devonshire by a French engineer,
Grillet, and completed in 1703. Each step is different
from the one below and above it, to vary the sound of the
falling water. The temple was designed by Thomas Archer.
Water can be made to flow over the roof and out of 13
spouts, including the mouths of the stone dolphins, and
there are even hidden jets in the floor. The temple and
the Cascade were restored between 1994-96. All the waterworks in the garden are
gravity-fed, with water piped from man-made lakes 400 feet
higher than the house, above the slope behind the garden.
Water from the bottom of the Cascade is used twice more on
its descent to the river - in the sea horse fountain on
the south lawn and a fountain in the private west garden. No water is pumped back up the hill, so
in a dry spell we restrict the hours the waterworks play.
Like the cascades, the fountain works by gravity!
As we drove out, there were some more views of the
House...
...and the grounds.
There were signs along the drive cautioning that there
were lambs on the road. We found out why!! This one had no
intention of moving so the cars had to carefully drive
around it!
Not all the lambs liked to live dangerously!
Our next stop was Roche Abbey. We
arrived four hours later than planned but it was still open.
There's not a whole lot of this
abbey left but I really liked it there. It had a
feeling of complete peacefulness and serenity.
We were so lucky with the weather. These walls are the
only remaining part of the abbey. They are the
transepts of the abbey church. If you visit the link
above, you will find a description of what happened
when the abbey was destroyed. It makes sad reading.
From the abbey, we headed to
Pontefract where we had planned to visit All Saints'
Church and the castle.
The church includes two structures - the ruins of a
14th century church (destroyed during the Civil War)
and a 1960s church which was built inside the ruins.
Unfortunately, the church as not open but we did get
some photos.
Sadly, the castle was not
open either (to be fair, it was after 5:30pm
when we got there)
We then made our way to our
accommodation in York as we were too late for
Evensong at York Minster.
We were not too late
to enjoy dinner at the nearby Toby
Carvery!!
