Chatsworth House

Do you like gardens or historic houses, museums or art galleries?  If you do, Chatsworth House is the place for you.  Chatsworth has all these things and more wrapped up in one tidy bundle.

Beauty and luxury can be found everywhere you look.  From the crimson dining room with its silver and crystal to the mahogany and gold library, Chatsworth lives up to it noble residency.

The first time I walked into Chatsworth, I stared agog at the massive and varied beauty around me.  Magnificent paintings soar overhead and wrap around the upper walls.  Where there isn’t a mural painting, there are statues and stone work or smaller works of art.  Sometimes you can find a piece or two of history in a hall or hanging on a wall, like an Egyptian plaque or a Greco-Roman fountain.

There are dozens of statues throughout Chatsworth House and more in the gardens.  Some of my favorites include “Achilles” and the Chatsworth lions.  But my all-time favorite is the “Veiled Vestal.”  The skill of the sculptor makes the veil over her face seem almost real.

The gardens are beautiful and extensive.  You could easily spend a whole day just exploring them.  And of course you must visit the Emperor’s Fountain.  Though it normally runs at only half of its potential power (originally shooting nearly 300ft high) the fountain and its lake are still impressive.

Chatsworth is full of things to see and places to explore.  Give yourself time and enjoy the beauty.

The Dining Room

The Library

One of the Ceiling Murals

The Main Stairs

The Chatsworth Lions

The Chatsworth Lions

The Veiled Vestal

Stable Courtyard

A Stall in a Stall?

The Cascade

A Statue

The Emperor's Fountain

Please do not use any of these pictures without permission.

Hadrian's Wall & Housesteads Roman Fort

Running the breadth of northern England is the famous Hadrian’s Wall.  Built in the early years of the 2nd century, Hadrian’s Wall was designed to defend the Roman occupied lands in the south from the fierce tribes in the north as well as control trade and immigration between the two.

The wall lies in ruins today, but there is still much for visitors to see.  One of the best preserved forts on the wall is Vercovicium or Housesteads Roman Fort as it is now called.  Despite its ruined state, the fort gives some interesting insight into Roman life in the north, particularly along the wall, and the Roman’s skill in building structures to last. 

Remember, the wall didn’t fall to the “barbarians.”  The Roman Empire left it along with Britain.  The Wall fell to the common man, the farmer who needed stone for his fences, the builder of houses, and those who built new roads.  But thanks to a man named John Clayton who bought much of the land that held the Wall in the 19th century, Hadrian’s Wall still stands in many places.

Housesteads is well worth the visit.  It can be very cold and windy, so bring a coat and hat or hood.  Take a little time to visit the Visitor Center before heading up to the fort.  It will give some foundation for the places and things you’ll be looking at.  And have some fun and enjoy the view.  There’s plenty to see.

Housesteads Roman Fort

The View 

Look into these web sites for more information
English Heritage: Housesteads Roman Fort
Wikipedia: Housesteads Roman Fort

Please do not use any of these pictures without permission.