Miss Morris: Chatsworth House

A few weeks ago I visited Chatsworth House with my Mum, as a break and reward for finishing college with good grades (originally I was going to quit college early due to my ill health, but I forced myself to do it, and did a lot of the work at home; somehow it worked out!). We got lost on the way there, so instead of two and a half hours in the car, it took four hours! I was unwell (as always, it seems), so I camped out in the back of the car with blankets, hot water bottles, and cushions, and watched the countryside rolling past as we were surrounded by fog in the Peak District.
By the time we arrived, the shops in the town we were staying in were closed, which was unfortunate as there were a few fabric shops and antique stores that I would have liked to have visited. I'd definitely go again, both for Chatsworth House and the town.

As for Chatsworth itself, it was absolutely gorgeous! I had visited before when I was about eleven, and it was different to how I remembered it, probably because of the huge clothes exhibition. We mainly looked around the house, as by the time we had finished there I was feeling very exhausted; next time, a visit to the gardens is in order!
Speaking of the clothes exhibition, it was wonderful! They had antique, vintage and modern day couture clothing, worn by ancestors of the house. My photos for the clothes didn't turn out well because of the lighting and reflection on the glass cases, as well as how busy it was, but I did get some nice photos of details of the house, such as jewelry and close ups of interiors.

The cute little chap in the illustration is wearing one of the outfits that were on display in a glass case. I think it was worn for a coronation. (my memory is fuzzy and I didn't take pictures of the descriptions of most things for some reason).

17th Century lace

Hair mourning jewelry

Memorial locket containing hair. I love this one! A few days after seeing these pieces at Chatsworth I saw an original Victorian hair mourning brooch for sale at my local vintage shop; I would have had it if it weren't out of my price range at the moment! (so many things I already have to save up for...)

This is one stunner of a gown! I like how it's been displayed at the end of the corridor, in a similar colour room, and with a portrait at the end, also with a similar colour scheme. For one, it's in my favourite colour, and for another, you can see the 18th Century and 1950's design elements. Yes, I can imagine that it would make a nice gown for me to swan around in at the weekends...