The Chatsworth House Trust has been awarded an £80,000 grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund to help convert a grade-II listed former Game Larder into a place where visitors can learn more about the historic landscape.

Thanks to National Lottery players, work is now underway to design and install the new information displays in the Game Larder, which is due to open, seven days a week, from mid-December.  Free to enter, the octagonal building in the park only 100 metres from the house at Chatsworth, will contain panels of images with historical facts information covering the last 500 years, with hands-on displays for visitors to explore and audio storytelling to explain the landscape as seen through its seven floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as its flora and fauna.

The Chatsworth House Trust is thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, and is confident the Game Larder project will help people of all ages and all walks of life to enjoy and learn more about the heritage of their local landscape and its management.

The Game Larder project is part of a nationwide celebration of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s 300^th anniversary. Its displays include the enormous impact Brown and his famous successor Joseph Paxton had on the ‘natural’ landscape, including the diversion of the river Derwent; the building of Edensor village; and the development of the famous 105 acre garden with its huge rockery, and plants and trees from around the world.

The opening of the Game Larder is a culmination of a project which has been running throughout the year which saw guided walks and talks on the evolution of the landscape.

The Devonshire Educational Trust at Chatsworth and the Capability Brown Festival are also supporting outreach work with a range of deprived community and refugee organisations in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, exploring the landscape at Chatsworth.

Rachel Parkin, Education Coordinator, says:-

“We’ve welcomed visitors who were originally from as far afield as Iraq, Sudan, Bangladesh, Syria, and Bulgaria, and visitors from deprived communities in the region many of whom had not previously seen much of the English countryside. The reaction from all involved has been really positive, which is great because we want to encourage visits and engagement with the landscape and countryside from a wider range of people.”

Sitting approximately 100 metres from the house, the Game Larder is an octagonal building on a stone plinth. Built in 1909, it was used for decades by the Dukes of Devonshire to store game in cool conditions but became derelict following arrival of modern refrigeration systems in the mid-20^th century. During the 1950s and 60s the Game Larder was used as a chicken shed by Duchess Deborah Devonshire.

Next spring, Chatsworth will present its most ambitious exhibition to date, exploring the history of fashion and adornment: House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth.

The exhibition will bring to life the captivating individuals from the Cavendish family, including Bess of Hardwick, one of the most powerful women of the 16th century; the 18th century “Empress of Fashion” Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire; and Adele Astaire, the sister and dance partner of Fred Astaire. Deborah Devonshire and Nancy Mitford, two of the Mitford sisters; model Stella Tennant and John F Kennedy’s sister ‘Kick’ Kennedy will also be central to the show. Telling the rich history of both international style and the Devonshire Collection, the exhibition will demonstrate the power of fashion to illuminate these extraordinary characters.

House Style will give unprecedented insight into the depth of the Devonshire Collection and the lives of renowned style icons from Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire to Stella Tennant. The exhibition will be woven throughout the grand rooms of the house including the Painted Hall; the Chapel and the State Music Room. Layering art history, fashion, jewellery, archival material, design and textiles, the exhibition will be organised by theme, including Coronation Dress; The Devonshire House Ball; Bess of Hardwick and the Tudor influence; The Georgiana Effect; Ducal Style; Country Living; The Circle of Life; and Entertaining at Chatsworth.

Sally Ambrose, Chatsworth’s Head of Visitor Services and Marketing, said:-

“House Style is a landmark exhibition for Chatsworth that has been years in the making. Fashion is interwoven into the fabric of the Cavendish family history, and the house itself has been at the centre of international style for decades.

“This exhibition will give visitors the opportunity to see the story of Chatsworth, through the styles and fashions of the people who have lived and stayed here. House Style will stay true to the history and tradition of Chatsworth, whilst also including modern day concepts and designers, appealing to style aficionados, casual observers and those with an interest in heritage and culture alike.”

Highlights of the exhibition will include personal family collections, including items belonging to the current Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, such as a Givenchy bolero worn on the Duchess’ wedding day. These pieces will be displayed alongside livery, uniforms, coronation robes and fancy-dress costumes, demonstrating the varying breadth of fashion and adornment from the Collection throughout the generations.

The show will also include exceptional couture designed by Jean Phillipe Worth and Christian Dior, together with influential contemporary garments from designers such as Gucci, Helmut Lang, Margiela, Vivienne Westwood, Erdem, Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane and Vetements.

Important artworks will also be on display, including rare costume designs from the 1660s by Inigo Jones, Surveyor to the King’s Works and one of the most notable architects of 17th century England. Contemporary artist TJ Wilcox will be showing his intimate filmed portrait of Adele Astaire, which contains the only surviving film of the star, found at Chatsworth in 2015.

Hamish Bowles, International Editor-at-Large at American Vogue, will curate this landmark show with creative direction and design by Patrick Kinmonth and Antonio Monfreda, the duo behind some of the most memorable fashion exhibitions of recent years.

Hamish Bowles commented:-

“To be let loose in the wardrobe rooms, the gold vaults, the muniment room, and the closets, cupboards, and attics of Chatsworth, in search of sartorial treasures has been a dream come true for me.

“Chatsworth is a real treasure house and the characters of generations of Cavendish family members who have peopled its rooms and gardens and landscapes is revealed as vividly through their choice of clothing and adornments, as through the canvases and lenses of the great artists and photographers who have memorialised them through the centuries.

“In House Style, we hope to bring these compelling and fascinating people and the very different worlds they inhabited to life, through the clothes and the jewels that they wore.”

Alessandro Michele, Creative Director at Gucci, commented:-

“Chatsworth is unlike anywhere else in the world. A place full of charm, history and rituals. It is a piece of England, of Europe and the contemporary world, all at the same time. You can see history everywhere, yet everything is alive. This exhibition proves how much historical objects are an incredible source of inspiration for creating the present. Thus far the house has been speaking, now House Style gives a voice to the wardrobes of its inhabitants and guests.”

To coincide with the exhibition, Rizzoli will publish House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth, with a foreword by the Duke of Devonshire; an introduction by the Countess of Burlington; edited by Hamish Bowles; and essays and texts by Hamish Bowles, Kimberley Chrisman-Campbell, Charlotte Mosley, Sarah Mower, Diana Scarisbrick, and Lady Sophia Topley. This book will be a 200-page survey of fashion at Chatsworth featuring photographs by Mario Testino, Cecil Beaton, Bruce Weber, Steven Meisel, Tim Walker, Ellen von Unwerth, and many previously unseen pictures from the Devonshire personal photograph albums.

The exhibition runs from 25 March to 22 October 2017, and is included in the price of entry to Chatsworth House.

House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth has been made possible with the support of principal sponsor Gucci, together with C W Sellors Fine Jewellery, Investec, Sotheby’s and Wedgwood.

Halloween Hoot at Chatsworth has fearful fun in store for little monsters throughout half term in the house, garden and farmyard.

Those who dare to visit can expect spooktacular surprises around every corner; from creepy crafts and reptile handling to a ghoulish trail through the house and Fright Flights into the deep, dark Warlock Wood.

Taking off on regular trips from the farmyard, the Fright Flight winds its way deep into Warlock Wood, home of the spooky Spell Weaver and her dastardly friends.

In the farmyard visitors can get up close to some creepy creatures with reptile handling sessions before turning their hand to creepy crafts in the Oak Barn.

It’s wise to watch out for cobwebs when exploring the abandoned tunnel and listening to spine-tingling stories in the garden.

Inside the house, little monsters can go on the hunt for hidden pumpkins and find fearful fun on a ghoulish trail.

Included with admission to the house, garden and farmyard, visit www.chatsworth.org for more information on dates, times and prices.

A host of big-name sporting personalities are heading to The Proact Stadium before Christmas to attend fundraising events.

Kevin Keegan will speak at a sporting dinner and there will also be appearances from former Manchester United stars Lee Sharpe and Norman Whiteside and ex-England cricketer Matthew Hoggard.

Keegan, who was twice named European Footballer of the Year, will attend Chesterfield Junior Blues FC’s dinner on December 1. Sharpe’s appearance, which is in aid of Espial FC, will take place on November 25. Whilst Whiteside visits the Proact on October 28 in a dinner to raise funds for New Tupton Ivanhoe FC.

Hoggard is the special guest at the Mayor of Chesterfield’s sporting dinner on Thursday, October 13, which will raise funds for the Macmillan Cancer Centre at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Accessible Derbyshire.

Peter Clarke, Events and Hospitality Manager at The Proact, said:

“We believe our banqueting facilities are the best in the area and that is backed up by the excellent feedback we receive on a regular basis from people who attend functions at the stadium.

“We host various fundraising events for charities and grassroots football clubs, which result in many thousands of pounds being raised and repeat bookings being received.”

Chesterfield’s skies will once again be lit up at Chesterfield Borough Council’s annual firework extravaganza.

The event takes place on Thursday 3 November at Stand Road Recreation Ground in Whittington Moor.

The gates open earlier this year at 4pm with a fun fair.

Popular presenters from Peak FM with provide fun with their roadshow before the fireworks display at 7pm, one hour earlier than in previous years.

Councillor Amanda Serjeant, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centre and visitor economy, said:-

“We hold the fireworks each year as part of our commitment to staging community events.

“It is always extremely popular and this year we have listened to feedback from parents to bring the fireworks forward to 7pm to allow more families to come along and take part.”

Entry to the event will cost £2. Visitors are asked to have the correct money as change cannot be given.

There will also be refreshments available from a variety of food and drink stalls.