hatsworth House is located escape from modern life and
in the heart of the Peak relax.
District National Park, an
area of outstanding natural The Power of Gravity
beauty in the center of England.
The house is the home of the Duke Chatsworth's gardens are
and Duchess of Devonshire, and well-known for their waterworks,
the 1000 acre estate includes a but what is perhaps less
working farm and more than 100 well-known is that they are
acres of landscaped gardens. completely gravity-fed from a
number of man-made lakes high on
The house itself is more than the hillside, 400 feet above the
five centuries old and houses one house. These lakes are fed by the
of the finest private collections myriad of streams that run
of art in Europe, including works through the Derbyshire moors.
by Rembrandt, Van Dyck and
Gainsborough, as well as more Not only are all the water
modern work, tapestries, features gravity-fed, but the
sculpture and period furnishings. water feed from the lakes is also
used to power a turbine that
Visitors are able to walk around generates much of the electricity
sections of the house, and themed required by Chatsworth House,
exhibitions are regularly staged making this old house a
throughout the year. thoroughly modern example of
sustainable development.
The gardens of Chatsworth are no
less impressive; the culmination There are four main fountains at
of hundreds of years of expert Chatsworth, each with its own
landscaping, they offer a unique and memorable
beautiful environment in which to characteristics. For your own
garden, fountains in similar years old!
styles are available at href="http://www.garden-fountains The Cascade
.com"
title="http://www.garden-fountain The Cascade forms a spectacular
s.com" target="_blank">color="#001000" rear of Chatsworth House. A
size="-2">http://www.garden-fount series of twenty-four
ains.com. irregularly-spaced stone steps,
it stretches down the hillside
The Emperor Fountain for 200 yards towards the house.
The Emperor Fountain was built The Cascade too is completely
for an imperial visitor and is gravity-fed, and is based on a
truly on a royal scale. Its 17th century French design. This
single jet can rise to over 290 water fountain was installed for
feet, and can be seen from the the first Duke of Devonshire in
house itself. 1696, and has remained,
unchanged, ever since.
Joseph Paxton was the head
gardener at Chatsworth for more At the top of the Cascade stands
than 30 years, and he created the the Cascade House, from which
Emperor Fountain in 1843, in water flows for the Cascade. The
anticipation of a visit from Tsar house is a small building,
Nicholas of Russia. Although the decorated on the outside with sea
visit never happened, the creatures in bas-relief. On
fountain provides the tallest jet special occasions, water pressure
of water in the UK - all the more to the Cascade can be increased,
remarkable for being completely causing the Cascade House to
gravity-fed, and more than 150 become part of the Cascade
spectacle, as water flows through as this fountain.
conduits on its roof and from the
mouths of its carved sea Revelation
creatures, before continuing down
the Cascade The newest addition to the
fountains of Chatsworth is named
The slight difference in size of "Revelation", and was designed by
each step means that the sound of well-known British sculptor
the water falling varies as it Angela Conner. Known for her work
descends down the Cascades, in brass and steel, in 2004/5 she
providing a wonderful and was commissioned by the late 11th
soothing accompaniment to a walk Duke of Devonshire to produce a
through the gardens. limited edition bust of Queen
Elizabeth, in commemoration of
Willow Tree Fountain the Queen's 80th birthday.
Sometimes referred to as the Revelation was installed in Jack
"Trick Tree", or "Squirting Pond, one of Chatsworth's oldest
Tree", the Willow Tree fountain ponds, in 1999. Made from steel,
has been a feature of the garden it takes the form of four large
for over 300 years, and makes a petals which open and close with
delightful surprise, hidden as it the flow of water, alternately
is amongst real Willow Trees. concealing and revealing a golden
globe at the centre of the
The fountain has its own "leaves" sculpture.
and "branches", from which water
sprays in all directions. Its age The globe was made from steel
makes it all the more remarkable before being painted with gold
- many of today's fountains are dust and the whole sculpture
not as innovative or imaginative stands five meters high and five
meters wide. The movement of the gravity-fed from the hillside
petals is completely driven by lakes above the estate, but what
water, and this newest fountain is rarely seen by visitors is the
is an intriguing and unusual underground network of streams
addition to the gardens of and conduits that not only feed
Chatsworth. the fountains of Chatsworth, but
also enable irrigation of the
Behind the Scenes extensive gardens and greenhouses
of the estate - a truly
We've already seen how all of remarkable piece of integrated
Chatsworth's fountains are planning and engineering.
About the Author:
For more information on the fountains at Chatsworth, visit our infomative section at: The Chatsworth Fountains.
Read more articles by:
Elizabeth Jean
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