The Guest Bedrooms have been refreshed to create a new space celebrating the 11th and 12th Duke and Duchesses of Devonshire, bringing together artworks, objects, books and commissions that reveal something of their individual tastes and influence on the house.

In this film, curator Katherine Hardwick-Kulpa explores how the rooms offer a more personal insight into the the most recent generations to have helped shape Chatsworth as the living, evolving house it is today.

Video Transcript

Chatsworth is not a house that stands still. It is constantly evolving; with new acquisitions, new ideas, and changing perspectives regularly woven into the visitor route. These spaces are part of that ongoing process.

They’re an opportunity to explore the personalities, tastes, and creative vision of the 11th and 12th Duke and Duchesses, and the ways they shaped the Chatsworth visitors experience today.

In the same way that spaces like the South Sketch and West Sketch celebrate important figures from Chatsworth’s past, these rooms allow us to focus on more recent generations, and to tell their stories through the objects, artworks, books, and interiors that mattered to them.

For the room inspired by the 11th Duke and Duchess, we drew heavily on Duchess Deborah’s writing, particularly her book The House.

Her voice is so vivid, personal, and full of humour that it became an incredibly valuable starting point for understanding not only her taste, but also the atmosphere she and the Duke created here after the Second World War.

That period was such a significant moment in Chatsworth’s history. The house had changed enormously during the war, and the 11th Duke and Duchess played a huge role in redefining and revitalising Chatsworth for a new era.

Through Duchess Deborah’s writing, you get a real sense of her eye for detail, her love of beauty and practicality, and the way she approached the challenge of making a great historic house feel alive and lived in again.

So throughout the room, we wanted to evoke that sense of personality; not simply recreating an interior, but trying to capture something of their taste, their creativity, and the world they surrounded themselves with.

For the room focused on the 12th Duke and Duchess, the emphasis shifts towards their passion for contemporary art and commissioning.

One of the most remarkable things about Chatsworth is that it has never stood still creatively. Each generation has added something new, and commissioning contemporary artists and makers has become an important part of the continuing story of the house.

This room brings together works across a range of different mediums, reflecting a shared curiosity about contemporary creativity and the dialogue between historic spaces and new ideas.

Rather than separating the past from the present, these works show how naturally contemporary art can exist within a historic house like Chatsworth.

Although these spaces are intended to become a semi-permanent part of the visitor route, they also give us the opportunity to explore different themes each year. It allows us to think about Chatsworth not only as a visual experience, but also as a place shaped by ideas, creativity, and personal expression.

Lady Burlington was closely involved in the development of both spaces, and particularly the room focused on the 12th Duke and Duchess. That personal connection brought an understanding of atmosphere and taste that you can’t always find in archives or inventories alone. It helped ensure the rooms feel personal as well as curatorial.

Ultimately, these spaces are about continuity. Chatsworth has always evolved through the people who have lived here; their interests, their creativity, and the choices they made about what the house could become. What these rooms reveal is that Chatsworth is not simply preserved; it is continually reimagined.