Jane Austen's World

Last month, in Part 2 of our tour of Elizabeth Bennet’s travels, we took a closer look at Derbyshire, Matlock, and Dovedale. Earlier, we explored the route Elizabeth and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner took on their journey to Derbyshire through Oxford, Blenheim, Warwick, Kenilworth, and Birmingham. We now turn our attention to Chatsworth House.

In the following excerpt, Austen tells us what they saw while in Derbyshire, a place of special interest to Mrs. Gardiner:

. . .according to the present plan, were to go no farther northward than Derbyshire. In that county there was enough to be seen to occupy the chief of their three weeks; and to Mrs. Gardiner it had a peculiarly strong attraction. The town where she had formerly passed some years of her life, and where they were now to spend a few days, was probably as great an object of her curiosity as all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth, Dovedale, or the Peak.

Chatsworth House plays a double role in our understanding of Pride and Prejudice. First, it is mentioned as an actual site Elizabeth Bennet saw on her journey. Second, it is believed to be a possible inspiration for Mr. Darcy’s home at Pemberley when Austen was writing.

Regency Tours of Great Houses

As a stop along their fictional sightseeing tour, Chatsworth House would have indeed been a common stop during the Regency Era. When Elizabeth and the Gardiners visit Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice, Austen highlights the popular practice wherein genteel travelers often toured portions of many large country estates and gardens.

To do so, guests would typically arrive by carriage and ask the housekeeper or porter for permission to view the house and grounds. A servant often guided guests through the principal rooms, pointing out paintings, furnishings, and family history along the way. We see this first-hand in PP:

First, we read of their approach and admittance into the hall:

They descended the hill, crossed the bridge, and drove to the door; and, while examining the nearer aspect of the house, all her apprehension of meeting its owner returned. She dreaded lest the chambermaid had been mistaken. On applying to see the place, they were admitted into the hall; and Elizabeth, as they waited for the housekeeper, had leisure to wonder at her being where she was.

Next, we learn about the tour given by the housekeeper:

The housekeeper came; a respectable looking elderly woman, much less fine, and more civil, than she had any notion of finding her. They followed her into the dining-parlour. It was a large, well-proportioned room, handsomely fitted up. Elizabeth, after slightly surveying it, went to a window to enjoy its prospect. The hill, crowned with wood, from which they had descended, receiving increased abruptness from the distance, was a beautiful object. Every disposition of the ground was good; and she looked on the whole scene, the river, the trees scattered on its banks, and the winding of the valley, as far as she could trace it, with delight. As they passed into other rooms, these objects were taking different positions; but{303} from every window there were beauties to be seen. The rooms were lofty and handsome, and their furniture suitable to the fortune of their proprietor; but Elizabeth saw, with admiration of his taste, that it was neither gaudy nor uselessly fine,—with less of splendour, and more real elegance, than the furniture of Rosings.

Chatsworth Then

During the Regency Era, Chatsworth would have been a beautiful sight to behold and a lovely spot for Elizabeth and the Gardiners to visit. By that time, Lancelot “Capability” Brown’s breathtaking redesign of the Chatsworth grounds, much like many other estates of that time, had been completed. However, visitors up through the early 1700s would have seen a much more formal view.

Here is the landscape at Chatsworth “before” Capability Brown:

Regency visitors would have seen a totally different landscape at Chatsworth only half a century later, complete with rolling hills and a more pastoral scene. Commissioned by the 4th Duke of Devonshire in the 1750s, Brown swept away the estate’s formal Baroque parterres (ornamental, geometric gardens) and reimagined the landscape entirely, with his signature, natural-looking landscape. His design included oaks, beeches, and willows scattered over the hillsides and deer grazing freely in open green areas. He even had the River Derwent rerouted to wind naturally through the extensive lawns below the house.

Here is the landscape at Chatsworth “after” Capability Brown:

Chatsworth Now

Today, “Chatsworth comprises a Grade I listed house and stables, a 105-acre garden, a 1,822-acre park, a farmyard and adventure playground, and one of Europe’s most significant private art collections.” It is a major tourist attraction, as are most family-owned estates in England today, due to the vast financial commitment it takes to keep these beautiful estates thriving.

At Chatsworth, you can take a tour of the House and its artwork and artifacts, which span over 4,000 years of history. The house is enormous and is somewhat like touring a museum. The Devonshire family has owned the estate for 500 years and has a wonderful history to share about the house and estate. You can also tour the extensive Gardens and surrounding landscape. Beyond the House and Garden, there is also the Farmyard and Playground with animals to pet and a play area for children.

The farm itself plays a huge part in the economical success of the estate, and the Farm Shop sells all manner of meat, cheeses, and other fine foods, including a “traditional butchery showcasing estate-reared meat, fresh fish from British waters, handmade patisserie, freshly baked bread, and seasonal fruits and vegetables.”

The house and gardens have been featured in several Jane Austen film adaptations and many period films, which is another practical way for the estate to continue to flourish. In the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Chatsworth was used as Mr. Darcy’s grand home at Pemberley, making it more famous than ever.

For those interested in learning more about the estate, I recommend the 3-part BBC documentary mini-series called “Chatsworth” (2012), which focuses on Chatsworth House in more detail. It is currently streaming on Prime Video.

Austen’s Pemberley

Let us now explore Chatsworth as Austen’s possible inspiration for Pemberley. While Pemberley itself is fictional, many believe Chatsworth may have been one of the homes that inspired Austen. Chatsworth is mentioned as one of the estates Elizabeth Bennet and the Gardiners visited, so we know Austen was familiar with it. (To read about how Austen may have known about it, though she had never visited, you can read more HERE.)

Other homes may have also inspired Austen, such as Kedleston Hall (also in Derbyshire), Lyme Park (used to film the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice), and Sudbury Hall (used to film the interiors of Pemberley in the 1995 film). She must have also been inspired by the homes she herself visited or saw while traveling, including her brother’s home at Godmersham Park.

Elizabeth Bennet at Pemberley

Regardless of the actual homes that may have inspired Austen, it’s easy to see why a grand estate like Mr. Darcy’s, if it were anything like Chatsworth or Godmersham, would have made Elizabeth Bennet exclaim at seeing it:

Elizabeth’s mind was too full for conversation, but she saw and admired every remarkable spot and point of view. They gradually ascended for half a mile, and then found themselves at the top of a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased, and the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite side of the valley, into which the road with some abruptness wound. It was a large, handsome stone building, standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills; and in front a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal nor falsely adorned. Elizabeth was delighted. She had never seen a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste. They were all of them warm in their admiration; and at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something!

Chatsworth, Pemberley, and Beyond

While there are many theories about the estates that may have inspired Austen, it’s clear that visions of large estates like Chatsworth would have played in the back of the minds of her Regency readers. They certainly would have understood by Austen’s descriptions that Darcy’s home was meant to be extensive.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our tour of Elizabeth Bennet’s travels thus far. Next month, we will visit the Peak District and nearby Bakewell. There we will discover more of the rugged natural beauty seen in several of the film adaptations of PP and a quintessential English village set in the heart of Derbyshire that may have been the inspiration for Mrs. Gardiner’s Lambton.

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Rachel Dodge teaches writing classes, speaks at libraries, teas, and conferences, and writes for Jane Austen’s World blog. She is the bestselling, award-winning author of The Anne of Green Gables Devotional, The Little Women Devotional, The Secret Garden Devotional, and Praying with Jane: 31 Days Through the Prayers of Jane Austen. She has narrated numerous book titles, including the Praying with Jane Audiobook with actress Amanda Root. A true kindred spirit at heart, Rachel loves books, bonnets, and ballgowns. Visit her online at www.RachelDodge.com.