Important information
Please note that not all these events include a behind the scenes tour of the house. All tours include a lot of walking and often many stairs; please let us know well in advance if you think you might need assistance of any kind. We reserve the right to alter the exact content of the day.

To book
Tickets are sold on a first-come first-served basis. Please ring the Booking office on 01246 565300 to confirm availability of places. To book, please fill in this online booking form. Please make a note of the booking code and title for your chosen event/s.

Behind the Scenes - Day 4 (BTS04)

Greenhouses tour at Chatsworth

Wednesday 15 September

Behind the scenes tour
See the house through the eyes of a member of the Chatsworth house team. This is an opportunity to explore parts of the house that are not publicly on show - working areas that are integral to the maintenance and preservation of the house. Where possible, the tour includes the joiner's shop (formerly the great Victorian kitchen) and the roof of the house (weather permitting).

Greenhouses tour
This tour, led by a member of the garden team, is an opportunity to see inside some of the greenhouses, normally closed to protect their climates. Your guide will explain some of the glories of the Chatsworth greenhouses, which have been famous since Victorian times for the range and variety of interesting and rare plants they protect.

Joseph Paxton and the 6th Duke of Devonshire - a fruitful partnership (a lecture)
Sir Joseph Paxton is best remembered as the man who designed the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition of 1851, but for more than 30 years he was the 6th Duke of Devonshire's head gardener and close friend, and created some of the wonders of Chatsworth, including the Emperor fountain, a colossal rock garden, and innovative glass houses. His patron, the Duke, encouraged him to develop as a self-taught horticulturalist, architect, engineer, inventor, industrialist, newspaper proprietor and eventually MP. This is the remarkable story of one of the 19th century's greatest figures.