Stewards of Chatsworth
The Duke of Devonshire
The Cavendishes of Chatsworth
Few English families have combined wealth, taste and staying power so consistently as the Cavendishes, dukes of Devonshire. For more than four centuries they have presided over Chatsworth in Derbyshire, shaping it from an Elizabethan mansion into one of the great private houses of Europe. Formidable women, discerning collectors and an unbroken thread of care have each played their part in that long story.
Bess of Hardwick, the matriarch
The true founder of the dynasty was a woman. Elizabeth Talbot, known to history as Bess of Hardwick, was among the most remarkable figures of the Elizabethan age. Through four calculated marriages and a genius for building and acquisition, she amassed a fortune and laid the foundations of two noble houses. It was Bess who first built at Chatsworth, and her Cavendish descendants who carried the family to a dukedom. The dynasty was forged as much by intelligence and will as by inherited land.
From earls to dukes
The Cavendishes were created earls of Devonshire in 1618, but the Glorious Revolution of 1688 brought their greatest reward. In 1694 William Cavendish, 4th Earl, was raised to the dukedom for his part in placing William and Mary on the throne. From that moment the family ranked among the foremost of the Whig aristocracy, their political weight matched by the splendour of their estates.
Georgiana, the celebrated duchess
The eighteenth century brought the family its most brilliant figure. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, led fashion, campaigned for the Whig cause and kept a house that was the social centre of Georgian London. Beautiful, reckless and deeply in debt, she lived the glamour and the strain of the highest society with equal intensity. Her story has held its grip on every generation since.
Chatsworth, the Palace of the Peak
At the heart of the dynasty stands Chatsworth in Derbyshire, rebuilt in baroque grandeur from 1687 and filled across the centuries with one of the finest private art collections in Britain. The dukes have held a remarkable spread of estates beyond it: Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire, Lismore Castle in County Waterford, and lands in Sussex among them. It is the "Palace of the Peak," with its gardens, fountains and accumulated treasures, that has always been the family’s centre of gravity.
The Mitford connection
The twentieth century added a famous new thread to the family. Deborah Mitford, "Debo," youngest of the celebrated Mitford sisters, married the future 11th Duke and in time became the great restorer of Chatsworth. Faced with crippling death duties in the post-war years, she transformed the house and estate into a working enterprise open to the public, securing its future through sheer force of personality and practical good sense.
The modern era: Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke
The present duke is Peregrine Cavendish, known as "Stoker," who succeeded his father in 2004. Under his direction, and that of the Duchess, Chatsworth undertook a vast multi-year programme of restoration, the Masterplan, addressing the fabric of the house from foundations to roof. His heir, the Earl of Burlington, already plays an active part in the estate’s life, maintaining the unbroken line of attention that has defined the family’s tenure.
Dukes of Devonshire — Succession
The dukedom was created on 12 May 1694 by William III, in recognition of the 1st Duke's central role in the Glorious Revolution.
Dukes of Devonshire
- 1st William Cavendish1694–1707; supported the Glorious Revolution; Lord Steward of the Household
- 2nd William Cavendish1707–1729; Lord President of the Council and Lord Privy Seal
- 3rd William Cavendish1729–1755; Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland 1737–1745
- 4th William Cavendish1755–1764; Prime Minister 1756–1757
- 5th William Cavendish1764–1811; married Lady Georgiana Spencer
- 6th William George Spencer Cavendish1811–1858; the Bachelor Duke; great collector and garden-maker
- 7th William Cavendish1858–1891; Chancellor of the Universities of London and Cambridge
- 8th Spencer Compton Cavendish1891–1908; statesman; declined the premiership three times
- 9th Victor Christian William Cavendish1908–1938; Governor General of Canada 1916–1921
- 10th Edward William Spencer Cavendish1938–1950; Conservative politician
- 11th Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish1950–2004; married Deborah Mitford; restored Chatsworth after crippling death duties
- 12th Peregrine Andrew Morny Cavendish2004–present; oversaw the Masterplan restoration of Chatsworth
Stewards of beauty
From Bess of Hardwick’s ambition to Debo Mitford’s practical devotion, the dukes and duchesses of Devonshire have been, above all, custodians of a house. Chatsworth endures as their joint achievement: continually renewed, the taste of four centuries layered beneath a single roof.