Restoring the Palace of the Peak
Ref: rbc.chats 010
Date: 22 February 2010
The Inside Story at Chatsworth: Restoring the Palace of the Peaks
Hundreds of metres of woven silks, curtain making to historic designs, carefully researched paint colours and finishes, window gilding, restoration of marble fireplaces, stone repair and cleaning, new plasterwork, wood carving and furniture restoration have all come together to create a stunning new interior for Chatsworth in 2010.
A new visitor route at the Derbyshire stately home is being unveiled from March 14 with new gallery spaces, restored rooms and displays on show as the biggest project of conservation, restoration and renewal since the 6th Duke's alterations in the 1830s comes to fruition.
A design team is overseeing the project, led by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. It includes the architect Peter Inskip, interiors expert David Milinaric and art historian Jonathan Bourne.
The Duke of Devonshire said: "insert quote giving an idea of type of the decisions they've made relating to the softer interior design aspects of the project, perhaps something that illustrates the level of care and detail such as deciding the width of stair carpet..."
The creation of the new visitor route has provided the opportunity to re-present the sketch galleries. The decorations have been chosen to suggest the atmosphere of the 6th Duke's Chatsworth as these galleries and much of the contents on display date from the 18th century.
David Mlinaric, considered one of the top British decorators of the second half of the twentieth century with clients ranging from Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton to Lord Rothschild, said: "The decorating schemes are not based on copies but interpretations of elements found at Chatsworth and for this, the curator's expertise is vital. For instance, the wall and curtain fabric was especially woven in France and selected as the stripe and watering are sympathetic to the Regency period; the complicated fringes, ropes and tassels of the curtain trimmings and the colour scheme were based on trimmings in the Chatsworth archive and the exterior gilding and window paint colour is also based on research as is the internal paint wall colour of the Oak Staircase.
"The Duke and Duchess initiated the integration of the modern and historic collection of paintings, sculpture and decorative art using their knowledge of and approach to family history as the basis of displays linking furniture, pictures and objects. One of the biggest challenges, apart from the scale of Chatsworth, is to provide a background that allows all the varied contents and art works to look their best with discreet services and low level lighting."
As well as the interior decoration, other significant changes include the opening up of 12 false windows along the West and South Sketch Galleries, the creation of a new North Sketch Gallery to improve the visitor route and the completely restored 19th Century Oak Stair with its lantern opened up after 75 years.
Outside, the North Front and central courtyard have been cleaned after three centuries to reveal stonework that gleams like new and carved vases, trophies, columns and decorations restored.
House, garden, farmyard and adventure playground, restaurants and gift shops are open every day from 14 March to 23 December 2010. The park is open every day during daylight hours. Visit www.chatsworth.org for more information.
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Liz Bee (lizb@redbrickcommunications.com)
Helen Morton (helenm@redbrickcommunications.com)
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