Chatsworth

Set within the stunning landscape of the Peak District National Park, exquisite Chatsworth House is one of the most visited properties in England. Its vast gardens and parks, which stand in direct contrast to the upland moors that surround them, are the result of a labour of love by successive dukes and duchesses of Devonshire over a period of three hundred years (1600 to 1900). This wonderful book explores the history of this landscape both `BC' (`Before Chatsworth') and later, beginning with the earliest landscaping of the Elizabethan Bess of Hardwick and the ambitious project of the first dukes to create gardens and landscapes that complemented their innovative, state-of-the-art mansion, completed at the turn of the 18th century. Intended `to delight, amuse and impress', the landscape was the result of earthmoving on a massive scale, culminating in the extraordinary Canal Pond. Further afield, a deer park, enclosures, lakes, weirs, cascades and driveways tamed the moors. The landscape was repeatedly transformed and recreated by successive generations of dukes, designers and architects, notably Capability Brown who `naturalised' the grounds in the 18th century, while 19th-century tastes created much of what we see today, with conservatories, arboretums, Paxton's Emperor Fountain and the model village of Edensor. The authors also survey the earlier history of Chatsworth, the archaeology of the surrounding peaks, the remains of the medieval village of Edensor which, as was often the case with country estates, was swept away only to be later resurrected according to Victorian taste, and a number of fine, ancient oaks which have seen it all and still stand today. The book is illustrated throughout with many excellent colour photographs of the estate, and old plans and paintings which demonstrate the many changes the centuries have brought. Another excellent landscape study by Windgather Press.