A bridge over placid water: Chatsworth enjoys an idyllic setting in rural Derbyshire In the late Thirties Noel Coward gently lampooned the dishevelled state of the great British country houses, singing: ...if the Van Dycks have to go, and we pawn the Bechstein Grand, we'll stand, by the Stately Homes of England.''
The Depression had left the great estates, like the rest of Britain, in straitened circumstances. Comfortably perched on their aristocratic pinnacle, however, they could barely have guessed at the financial horrors about to come.
After the Second World War the landed gentry were almost knocked flat by the imposition of new death duties; suddenly the future existence of Britain's most glorious ancestral piles was in jeopardy.
Hitherto, the likes of Longleat, Woburn Abbey, Beaulieu and Blenheim Palace had enjoyed a quiet, contented existence and there seemed little reason to suppose this wellordered state of affairs would alter. But at a stroke, the noble families of Britain not only had to find ways of paying off huge tax demands (more than a few Van Dycks and other Old Masters went to the sale room to meet these bills), they also had to establish a way of trying to safeguard the future.
Some opted out completely by handing over their homes to the National Trust, but others fought on. Lord Bath famously established the Lions of Longleat and the Duke of Bedford followed his example with a safari park at Woburn Abbey, while Lord Montagu opened a motor museum at Beaulieu.
But it is arguably England's most handsome country house - Chatsworth, ancestral home of the Dukes of Devonshire --which has survived most impressively. In fact, it has not merely survived but has successfully recreated itself as one of the world's most extraordinary tourist attractions.
The Chatsworth story began with Bess of Hardwick in Tudor times, who was a forebear of the Devonshires, and continues now with Peregrine, the 12th Duke of Devonshire who inherited the title on the death of his father Andrew in 2004. In between are successive generations of the family - some brilliant, many clearly bonkers - who have in various ways devoted themselves to the maintenance and improvement of the family seat.
For most of its life Chatsworth was - in its magnificent way - the physical embodiment of their wealth and status. These days it is a commercial enterprise which needs visitors to survive. Tourism is an industry, like showbusiness, which depends on selling myths and dreams, and just as we queue to see blockbuster films, only the larger-than-life attractions draw the big crowds.
Hollywood thrills: Keira Knightley starred in the 2008 movie The Duchess, which is partly set at ChatsworthChatsworth is all showbusiness: the ' Palace of the Peaks' is an attraction that not only dominates the glorious Derbyshire countryside but which has succeeded in outpacing its rivals. It was the first country house, for example, to open a Farm Shop, which last year was rated the best in the country. It has also become a successful Hollywood star in its own right.
It figured prominently in the 2005 film of Pride And Prejudice starring Keira Knightley, which was quite fitting - when Jane Austen needed inspiration for Pemberley, the home of Mr Darcy, she had to look no further than Chatsworth which is actually referred to by name in her novel.
This year the house has had another Hollywood moment as an unlikely backdrop to The Wolfman, starring Anthony Hopkins.
Keira Knightley returned to Chatsworth in 2008 to film The Duchess in which she played the part of Georgiana, the first wife of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire. The extraordinary story of Georgiana (compulsive gambler and tireless socialite) forms a key part of a new exhibition in Chatsworth devoted not only to her life but also to her tastes, reflected in displays of portraits, furniture and works of art that she commissioned or acquired, many not seen by visitors before.
At the centre of the display is the famous portrait of her by Thomas Gainsborough.
The painting mysteriously vanished from Chatsworth in the 19th Century, but later turned up in the home of an elderly schoolmistress who had lopped off the bottom half of the full-length portrait so that it would fit above her fireplace.
After the painting was found - by Allan Pinkerton of the famous Pinkerton's detective agency - it was put on display at London auctioneer's Agnew's. It was immediately stolen by the master criminal Adam Worth (who provided Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes's nemesis Moriarty). Thankfully, the painting is now back in its rightful place at Chatsworth. But the unlikely connections between Chatsworth and the world of fiction don't stop there.
When I met the Duke in his study, he was cradling the fabulous Kniphausen Hawk, a 17th Century statuette made of silver and silver gilt and set with precious gemstones, which has been at Chatsworth since 1819. This extraordinary bird is said to have provided the inspiration for the priceless statuette at the heart of the intrigue in The Maltese Falcon, the 1941 movie which stars Humphrey Bogart.
The real deal: Thomas Gainsborough's portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of DevonshireThe Hawk takes pride of place in a completely new gallery created to display art and treasures from the vast Chatsworth collection. The new gallery is part of a £15million programme of renovations which has opened up more of the house to visitors.
Those arriving at Chatsworth next Sunday for the opening day of the new season will discover a new visitor route through the house that will reveal freshly restored rooms and elegant new displays not only celebrating the legendary Georgiana but also the 90th birthday of Deborah Devonshire, the present Dowager Duchess. She is the last surviving member of the famous Mitford sisters whose number included famous writer Nancy, society beauty Diana (who married British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley), Unity, who travelled to Berlin to pursue her devotion to Hitler, and communist Jessica.
Deborah's role in reviving the fortunes of Chatsworth has been immense. The Duke told me: 'She made the best of Chatsworth. Together with my father she turned it around. When they took it over it was a bit of a millstone but they turned it into a really successful, really popular place. My parents deserve all of the credit.'
While the Deborah exhibition inevitably reflects some of the Mitford history it also highlights her other passions, which include Elvis Presley. On view will be her cherished Elvis phone - Elvis swivels the famous pelvis at the touch of a button - and her authentic piece of Graceland, a length of garden fence presented to the Dowager Duchess by Elvis's former neighbour.
A more sombre American connection can be seen in the graveyard of St Peter's, the Chatsworth parish church. Here lies the body of JFK's sister Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy, who in 1944 married William Cavendish, the heir to the Duke of Devonshire.
He was killed in action just four months later.
Kathleen died four years afterwards when the plane she was travelling in crashed in France. Five months before he was assassinated in Dallas, JFK came to Chatsworth to visit his sister's grave - and the present Duke vividly remembers the day the President came to the Peak District. He recalled: 'It was the only time I met him.
He landed by the church in a helicopter and visited his sister's grave. Then, in movie style, we all seemed to run to lots of cars to come back over here to lunch.
My parents were very fond of him.'
Shine of the times: The stately home has undergone a £15million faceliftThough the house is filled with all sorts of extraordinary history, the Duke's pressing task is to keep focused squarely on the future. He has personally overseen the £15million programme of restorations and improvements which will take Chatsworth to a new level as a tourist attraction. Innovations this year include access to the restored stone courtyard at the heart of the house, improved access facilities meaning far fewer stairs for all visitors, and a new lift giving full disabled access to all three floors of the house for the first time.
The Duke spends a lot of time chatting to visitors, finding out what they like and dislike about Chatsworth and what takes them there. He said: 'The thing that people really love is the whole landscape: not just the house or just the garden or just the farmyard but the whole place. You come into this beautiful park and even on a dull day it looks rather wonderful. People tell me they find it peaceful and intriguing.'
With the new season, the Duke feels optimistic having benefited last year from the 'staycation' effect.
'In terms of numbers of visitors, last year was good, attendance was well up - back to what it should have been after a tough year in 2008 because of bad summer weather,' he said.
'There is some doubt as to whether we will see people holidaying in Britain again this year but we will continue our marketing effort. As for new developments, we're always thinking about the next thing and the thing after that.'
It's a sign of Chatsworth's forward thinking that while there are plenty of rooms filled with old treasures, there is also a commitment to modern art: previous exhibitions have featured pieces by Damien Hirst and Marc Quinn.
I wondered what Chatsworth's original Tudor doyenne Bess of Hardwick would make of all the changes. 'She'd be delighted,' the Duke said, 'very happy that what she started is still going strong. It's amazing how it's endured --we've had lots of good luck.'
As someone arrives to return the Kniphausen Hawk back to its secure home, I think of a line from the Humphrey Bogart film that this bird inspired. As Kasper Gutman, played by Sydney Greenstreet, prepares to dispense with the services of Wilmer (Elisha Cook Jr), he says: 'I couldn't be fonder of you if you were my own son. But, well, if you lose a son, it's possible to get another. There's only one Maltese Falcon.'
And there ' s only one Chatsworth...
Meet the man of the house: The present Duke of DevonshireAll the fun of the country fairThroughout the year Chatsworth stages several key events including an Easter Eggstravaganza from April 2-11 and the annual Country Fair from September 3-5 - described by Alan Titchmarsh as the country's 'best outdoor show'.
There are international horse trials on May 15-16 and a Tudor Fair where you can try your hand at archery or sample Elizabethan cookery from May 19-31. New this year will be a spectacular Tulip festival, in conjunction with de Jager bulbs, running alongside the Florabundance floral celebration in the house, during six days from Saturday, May 1.
At the end of the year Chatsworth will be staging a Russian Christmas on the two lower floors of the house. There will also be seasonal shopping and food, special evening openings and gourmet feasts and live Nativity performances with animals from the farmyard. Chatsworth is open every day from March 14 to December 23, 2010.
A one-day Discovery ticket, which allows access to the house, garden and farmyard, costs £15.50 for adults and £9.50 for children (aged four-16 inclusive, under-fours free).
A family Discovery ticket (two adults, up to three children) costs £46.
More details at www.chatsworth.org.
source: dailymail