Where we play
Set in the heart of the Derbyshire's Peak District, Chatsworth Cricket Club has one of the most picturesque and unique settings of any cricket club in the country.
The cricket club is located to the north of the house and is set in the 1,000-acre Chatsworth park, which attracts over 500,000 people a year. The club sits along side the River Derwent and has views of the house and the 200ft Emperor fountain. The park itself is enclosed by a 15 kilometer dry stone wall and is home to red and fallow deer, sheep, cattle and other wild animals many of which will be seen while playing cricket.
The 1,000-acre park was chiefly designed by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown between c.1760 and c.1764. Lancelot Brown was commissioned by the 4th duke and oversaw an extensive programme of earth moving, drainage, levelling and tree planting in the park to give a more naturalistic landscape. His signature features of rolling green slopes, trees carefully placed singly or in clumps particularly on hills to enclose the view can all still be seen today from the cricket club.
Photo Rob Sanderson
The park has also been influenced by some of the greatest artists and designers of their time, including George London, William Kent, Sir Jeffry Wyatville and Sir Joseph Paxton all under the direction of successive Dukes of Devonshire
The house itself is a Grade 1 listed building and is home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. It has been passed down through 16 generations of the Cavendish family and sits on a raised terrace to the eastern side of the park. Its history goes back to 1550's, when Sir William Cavendish married Bess of Hardwick and she persuaded him to move to her home county.
Today Chatsworth contains one of Europe’s most significant art collections that span 4,000 years, from ancient Roman and Egyptian sculpture, and masterpieces by Rembrandt, Reynolds and Veronese, to work by outstanding modern artists, including Lucian Freud, Edmund de Waal and David Nash.
In 2018 Chatsworth completed a 13 year £33 million restoration masterplan for the long-term preservation of the house, its art collection, garden, woodlands and park for the benefit of the visiting public.
