A pair of slippers sits neatly beside a bed. The bedframe is classic William IV – the mahogany elaborately carved with foliage; the heavy chintz drapes hung à la Polonaise. In the background, you can just see that the room’s wallpaper is Chinese- inspired, handpainted c1800. The Wellington Dressing Room – named after the Duke of Wellington, who stayed here in 1843 – has a grandeur befitting Chatsworth House, the 126-room Derbyshire mansion built at the high point of the 16th century.
They also made the house and its contents into a charity – the money that comes from visitors pays to restore and look after the building. We as a family own much of the contents, and lend that to the charity. It shouldn’t work, but it does. They set up that structure to protect Chatsworth, for the nation essentially, with the intention that it is enjoyed by as many people as possible.” Total visitor numbers in 2023 crested at a little over 600,000.