Chatsworth House: Behind the scenes at Pride and Prejudice's Pemberley as the stately home opens for 2023

Dorothy Rayner, collections steward, said it's been a whirlwind behind the scenes: "This is our time to set up our scaffolds and large ladders to clean the house from top to bottom, which just isn’t possible when we are open to visitors. Our house team are also able to make essential repairs to the fabric of the building - it’s not unusual to find bits of parquet floor being lifted first thing in the morning to be repaired."

Chatsworth House may be familiar to many as Mr Darcy's Pemberley from Pride and Prejudice. Home to the Devonshire family, it has been passed down through 16 generations. There are over 25 rooms to explore, with art spanning 4,000 years from ancient Roman and Egyptian sculptures, to masterpieces by Rembrandt, Reynolds and Veronese.

There's the painted hall. The chapel, a state drawing room fit for a king. Then lavishly decorated bed chambers, oak stairs, a sculpture gallery, and a great dining room, still used for formal dinners.

Every year, the silver on display on the dining table is to be cleaned. It's a lengthy process. Clock winding continues, with training for a new team.

"Chandeliers want cleaning, as does every window, and all our floors get a fresh layer of polish or wax," said Ms Rayner. "When winter begins, we’re always raring to get stuck in to everything we have planned - but it can be quite a slog to get through it all.

"So when March comes around, and the house opening is in sight, we do get a sense of anticipation for getting everything looking just right. In the days leading up to house opening, we walk the route time and time again to make sure, and it is so pleasing seeing everything look clean and well presented for our visitors to enjoy."