Stately home to reopen with more areas for the public and collections never previously seen on open display

ALMOST two centuries have passed since its last facelift, but during those 200 years Chatsworth House has delighted visitors from all over the world with its stately looks.

The home of the Dukes of Devonshire in the Peak District countryside is a jewel in the region’s crown, but its current owner recently decided it was time to give the jewel a bit of polish.

According to estate records, the last man to make significant alterations to the house was the 6th Duke, who built the north wing in the 1830s and radically remodelled the gardens and grounds.

Now, six generations later, the 12th Duke, Peregrine Cavendish, has completed his own project and yesterday unveiled some of his work before the house reopens to the public at the weekend.

More than 14m has been earmarked for the Duke’s “masterplan”, which has resulted in new areas being opened to the public and reveals collections which have never before been on display.

A new “visitor route” passes previously unseen treasures, including items from the life of the 17th century Duchess Georgiana, who was recently the subject of a Hollywood film starring Keira Knightley.

Another star of the new Chatsworth galleries will be the Dowager Duchess Deborah Devonshire, who has an entire exhibition dedicated to her life at Chatsworth and elsewhere.

The Duke said: “This is a very exciting year for us as we start to reap the rewards of this extensive repair and renovation project to ensure Chatsworth is enjoyed by many future generations.

“The improvements to the visitor route make it easier to view the fantastic interiors with hundreds of skilled contractors and teams of experts from lighting designers to furniture conservators and silk weavers involved.

The Duke added: “We’re also delighted that the new spaces created enable us to show many wonderful pieces that haven’t been on view to visitors before, and to mark my mother’s 90th birthday with a special exhibition.”

Deborah Devonshire is the last survivor of the famous Mitford sisters, and original letters written by her to her sisters, dance cards and even some early diaries have been dusted off for the celebration.

She will celebrate her 90th birthday on March 31, and will look back on more than half a century at Chatsworth, which she helped make a family home after the war years.

The Dowager Duchess has selected many of the exhibits herself, with other items including an Elvis telephone, jewellery, a photograph taken by Mario Testino for Vogue and couture dresses.

She said: “Putting this exhibition together has meant thinking back over nine decades of my life so far, and trying to gather mementoes and photographs that will interest visitors to Chatsworth this year.

“I hope people will enjoy the wide range of things on view, from Paris dresses and works of art I love, to family photographs and the telephone from the gift shop at Graceland.

“I have been lucky enough to know many fascinating people and be involved in local and national organisations and good causes.”

A third generation of the family has also been involved in the new-look Chatsworth, after the Duke’s daughter-in-law Lady Burlington sat for a unique and very modern “video portrait”.

The work, created by artist Michael Craig-Martin, is displayed on a 52in monitor which divides into nine different areas of colour. A palette of 44 colours fades and changes in a random pattern, in a way that Mr Craig-Martin hopes will mean the same combination is unlikely to be ever seen twice.

Chatsworth reopens on Sunday and the exhibitions will be on display until December 23.

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