Chatsworth House

Um, she does confess, um, that she hasn't actually researched Bess of Hardwick, one of our topics this week for new joiners.

But I do recall the Chatsworth connection, and I imagined her in a fabulous Elizabeth I dress, ladying it or lording it about in the grounds.

As to the idea that there was no loo in the bedroom, something identified by a, a correspondent's mother yesterday, I did wonder if they might have had commodes back then, such as the things that turn up on the Antique Roadshow occasionally.

I'm sure Fiona Bruce has mentioned them.

No, he'll be immortal, uh, in my heart.

I think we'll just head briefly to one of our won- most wonderful stately homes, that's Chatsworth again.

"On a visit to Chatsworth," writes Anonymous, "with my out- outspoken mother, imagine Jane Horrocks and Prunella Scales," right? Uh, "we took an additional tour of the Duchess of Devonshire's private quarters.

A small group..." For some reason, that sounds rather rude, doesn't it? [laughs]

[laughs]

Uh, cheers.

There's anonymous.

Thank you for that [chuckles] beguiling tale of your dear mother's trip to Chatsworth where she made not very much of the fact that the Duchess [chuckles] doesn't have access to an en suite.

Oh, yes, we've been informed.

We have been informed, and we are most grateful to, uh, anonymous who is a guide at Chatsworth House.

How good is that?

Now we have some Chatsworth House news that again we're not allowed to say.

It's another one of Eve's tantalizing deadlines.

Yes, we're buying Chatsworth House.

Oh, I've given it away.

[laughing] Well, Eve's a very big fan of Chatsworth because it features as Mr. Darcy's house in the two thousand and five adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

And I was like, yeah, they were American.

So I was excited to like hear some accents I could understand so we're doing this trivia night thing and they're telling me how they're like what's it was funny because like they ended up being people who read Jeff and knew some of the people that I knew and this was back in like 2013 so it's crazy it was crazy and I was like what a small world because I was heading to Pemberley the next day I was going down to Chatsworth and And so anyway, but they were totally having vacation flings and telling me all about it.

And I was like, what? And then the whole time, every time I've gone to England, England is a great country to solo travel.

You know, some places are good for solo travel and others are really not.

The first conspicuous Cavendish, the Sir William who was employed in the visitation of monasteries by Henry VIII and had certain pickings from their estates, married Elizabeth, a rich heiress in Derbyshire, generally known as Bess of Hardwick.

She was an imperious lady who induced her husband to settle in Derbyshire, where she built great houses at Hardwick and Chatsworth.

She had determined, it seems, not to die as long as she could build, and it was only a hard frost suspending her building operations which induced her to leave the world in 1608 at the age of 90.

She had before that time married two other husbands, the last being the Earl of Shrewsbury, the host and jailer of Mary Queen of Scots.

During the interval, Hobbes wrote a Latin poem giving an account of a short tour in the Peak, made in company with the second Earl.

It was, it appears, a New Year's gift to his friend, who rewarded him with a present of five pounds.

The De Mirabilibus Pecci Carmen begins with a description of the beauties of Chatsworth and the early landscape gardening of Bess of Hardwick, where art, dissimulating art, has produced sham rocks and streams and fountains.

Then he describes the ride in the course of which he and his companions see the seven wonders of the Peak, Chatsworth itself, the cave called the Devil, Mam Tor, Elden Hole, the Hot Spring, Poole's Cavern, and Buxton Well.

Can't get to many away games at the moment with a young son.

So, yeah, we were off to watch the hot air balloons at Chatsworth House instead.

Good second option.

And is your young lad being brought up in a yellow kit and being told about the Mansfield heritage?

The, a previous example was the late Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

I mean, Debo Devonshire ran the Devonshire estates, she ran Chatsworth.

She was a powerhouse.

She was one of the Mitford sisters.

The first conspicuous Cavendish, the Sir William who was employed in the visitation of monasteries by Henry VIII and had certain pickings from their estates, married Elizabeth, a rich heiress in Derbyshire, generally known as Bess of Hardwick.

She was an imperious lady who induced her husband to settle in Derbyshire, where she built great houses at Hardwick and Chatsworth.

She had determined, it seems, not to die as long as she could build, and it was only a hard frost suspending her building operations which induced her to leave the world in 1608 at the age of ninety.

She had before that time married two other husbands, the last being the Earl of Shrewsbury, the host and jailer of Mary Queen of Scots.

During the interval Hobbes wrote a Latin poem giving an account of a short tour in the Peak made in company with the second Earl.

It was, it appears, a New Year's gift to his friend who rewarded him with a present of five pounds.

The De Mirabilibus Pecci Carmen begins with a description of the beauties of Chatsworth and the early landscape gardening of Bess of Hardwick, where art dissimulating art has produced sham rocks and streams and fountains.

Then he describes the ride in the course of which he and his companions see the seven wonders of the Peak, Chatsworth itself, the cave called the Devil, Mam Tor, Eldon Hole, the Hot Spring, Pool's Cavern and Buxton Well.