How to Visit the Mr. Darcy house in central England, and other Pride & Prejudice filming locations.
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Year Visited: 2022
Time of Year: May
Pride & Prejudice’s Chatsworth House
If you’ve seen Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley version), then you’ll recognize Chatsworth House. It’s the filming location of Pemberly (AKA: Mr. Darcy’s house, AKA: the house we all wanted to be mistress of!).
If you haven’t seen Pride and Prejudice (any version), you should visit anyway. It’s a gorgeous house in a gorgeous part of England. Visiting Chatsworth House was one of my favorite parts of our trip to England!
What is Chatsworth House?
Chatsworth House is a “large house in the country.”
At least, that’s how our friends from England’s friend, whose cousins own the house (got all that?), described it. Our friends from England called that a bit of an understatement…
It is the family home of the Devonshire family, and has been for 16 generations.
The large country house is also famous as the “Mr. Darcy house,” since it was used as the filming location for Pemberly in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice.
Do people still live in Chatsworth House?
Yes, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire do actually live in this amazing house! When you tour it, different parts of the house will be open for tours at different times, so you can visit the house more than once and see something new every time! The family lives in the other parts of the house that are not open for tours.
The Duke and Duchess are huge supporters of the arts, and you will be able to see their art collections on display in their home. This can range from the classic white sculptures seen in the Pride and Prejudice movie, to new, temporary art installations, such as the giant Pegasus sculpture (with moving wings) in the garden.
Where is Chatsworth House?
Chatsworth House is located in the Peak District of England, in the rolling hills of Derbyshire. This was my favorite part of England that we visited.
In the Pride and Prejudice movie, when Elizabeth and her relatives first see the house, their jaws drop. I will be honest, I was never overly impressed by it in the movie.
But seeing it slip into view around the rolling hills as you come up the looooong drive, and then realizing how huge it truly is (large house in the country, remember?), I can understand their awe now. I think I literally made the same expression as the characters in the movie when I first saw it.
Rolling hills of the Derbyshire countryside, as seen from the Chatsworth House gardens.
Other things to see at Chatsworth House:
When you visit Chatsworth House, it is not just a large house full of fantastical art collections that you get to see.
There are also over 100 acres of gardens to explore, which in my mind is truly the highlight of the visit. From towering waterfalls, to rippling fountains, rows of flowering trees, to a maze that looks straight out of Alice in Wonderland, the gardens are truly a wonder.
In addition, they also have a farmyard (Chatsworth does have a working farm), restaurants, gift shops, a horse-trials venue (read about their international horse trials) and another 1000 acres just to take a stroll in.
Imagine how many steps you can get in, just walking the property around the outside of the house!
Chatsworth House FAQs
Do you have to book your tickets ahead of time?
You do not have to book tickets ahead of time, but it is always a good idea.
You can book different types of tickets, so if you just want to visit the gardens and not the house, or you want to visit the house but not the farmyard, be sure to book a ticket that grants entry to all of the things you want to do.
Book your tickets for Chatsworth House.
Can you visit the gardens if you get there early?
If you have a timed entry into the house, get here early! You can wander around the gardens at any time (if you have paid for entry to the gardens). You can explore them both before and after your tour of the house. You will get a stamp on your hand to allow you reentry into the garden and gift shop area.
Is it a guided tour of the house?
The tour of Chatsworth House is not a guided tour; you can go at your own pace through each room. However, there are guides in every area of the house to answer your questions and give you lots of fun insider information (eg: Where the Mr. Darcy statue is!).
How long do you spend at Chatsworth House?
You can easily spend all day at Chatsworth House! We spent 1 hr. in the garden and 1 1/2 hrs. in the house. But we went pretty quickly through the gardens. I would have liked to spend more time exploring them!
Also take into consideration if you want to amble around the grounds at all, or eat at one of the cafes.
Can you bring a picnic to Chatsworth?
You can bring your own food into the grounds, however, there are no picnic tables at Chatsworth House. There are several benches around the garden where you can sit.
We brought sandwiches with us, so we just ate them standing up at the car.
Can you take your bags into Chatsworth House?
No, large bags or backpacks are not allowed inside the house, unless you wear them on your front. This is to keep people from accidentally knocking into any of the artifacts or art work around the house.
You can leave your bags in the car or in a paid locker. Or (if you really want to) you can wear your backpack on your front.
Small purses are ok.
Can you take pictures at Chatsworth House?
Yes! You can take pictures! I had to put my camera bag in the car, but I could bring my camera with me.
There are SO many things to take pictures of, inside and outside of Chatsworth House!
Is the Mr. Darcy statue still at Chatsworth House??
This is the most important question for Pride and Prejudice fans!! And YES, you CAN see the Mr. Darcy statue that Lizzy ogles over at Chatsworth House (and NO, you cannot kiss it… No, really. There’s a sign).
Note the sign-Do not kiss Mr. Darcy!
Where IS the Mr. Darcy statue at Chatsworth House?
Also an important question! The Mr. Darcy statue is in the gift shop at the end of the tour.
The last room of Chatsworth House that you see before the gift shop is the room with all of the white sculptures (where his bust was located in the movie). The next room is the gift shop, and the Mr. Darcy bust is right in the middle of the shop (you can even buy a mini one, if you want to take it home…!).
The white sculpture room—the last room before the gift shop.
How to Get to Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is located out in the countryside of England, near the village of Bakewell.
By car:
Because it is so far out in the country and not close to any train stations, the best way to get there is to drive.
If you’re visiting England, you’re best bet is really to rent a car for the day (the good news is—then you can visit other beautiful Pride and Prejudice filming locations too!).
Or to have friends in England who will drive you. That will work too.
By Public Transportation:
You can get to Chatsworth House by public transportation, but it will take a long time. You can get a train to Sheffield, the nearest large city.
From Sheffield you can get a bus to Bakewell, and from Bakewell you can get a bus to Chatsworth House.
By Tour:
There are not a lot of tours that take you to the Mr. Darcy house in central England (apparently we need more Jane Austen fans in the world).
But I did find one tour from Manchester that will take you to Chatsworth House and the several stops in the Peak District (where Lizzy and her aunt and uncle were exploring in Pride and Prejudice!).
This is a one day tour, and would be perfect if you want to see some Pride and Prejudice sites, but don’t want to drive.
There are also a couple of multi-day tours from London and Manchester, but these are more expensive.
Where to Stay
One of the bedrooms in Chatsworth House.
Sheffield
As I mentioned above, Sheffield is the closest large city to Chatsworth House. It is a good base for exploring the beautiful countryside and other Pride and Prejudice filming locations around the area.
There are a lot of options of places to stay in Sheffield. I would suggest the Premier Inn, which is the UK’s largest chain. We stayed at one in Edinburgh, and it was a very nice hotel for a good price.
Manchester
Manchester is another large city (similar in size to Sheffield) that is fairly close to Chatsworth House and the Peak District. This is the only city where I have found a guided tour to Chatsworth House.
Baslow
This is a super cute English town just 10 minutes from Chatsworth. There are quite a few options of where to stay in the village, including The Cavendish Hotel and The Devonshire Arms.
On Chatworth’s Property
This would be super amazing, and also super expensive… But if you want to, Chatsworth has a variety of cottages available for rent around their property.
When to Go
Chatsworth is open all year long, but I think the best time to visit Chatsworth is either in the early spring, or for Christmas.
We visited on a weekday in early May, and it was beautiful. The gardens were full of flowers, and it was pleasant to walk around. And there were hardly any crowds, which is always a plus.
Chatsworth House hosts special events all year long, so be sure to check out their events page to see if there is something particular you want to see (they have on occasion been known to host Pride and Prejudice balls, so you can dress up in period costume and dance the night away at the Mr. Darcy house!!).
Their most popular event is Christmas at Chatsworth, which is on from November through the beginning of January, with a Christmas market taking place in November.
Other Pride and Prejudice Locations to Visit
Belton House
Belton House is the other Pride and Prejudice filming location that we visited. It is located in Grantham, UK, just over an hour drive from Sheffield.
Belton was used as the filming location for Rosings Park in the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice. There are several recognizable rooms inside, such as the dining room (used as Lady Catherine’s sitting room in the movie), the staircase Colin Firth ran up and the “Mr. Darcy desk,” where he composed his distraught letter to Lizzy.
The outside of the house is seen numerous times throughout the movie, and even, surprisingly (maybe because it’s so pretty), is the house featured on the DVD cover (if anyone still has DVDs anymore…)
There are picnic tables available at Belton House, which is owned by the National Trust.
Be sure to stop by the stable-themed restaurant in the old stables, and the large used bookstore on property.
Lovingly referred to as the “Mr. Darcy desk.”
Colin Firth runs up these stairs to the bedroom with the “Mr. Darcy desk.”
Lyme Park
As much as I love Matthew Macfayden’s Mr. Darcy, you will get no argument from me that Colin Firth is THE Mr. Darcy.
So a visit to Lyme Park, the Mr. Darcy house (Pemberly) filming location of the 1995 BBC version, is a good stop for any Pride and Prejudice fan.
Lyme Park is also owned by the National Trust, and is located in Stockport, also just over an hour’s drive from Sheffield.
Stanage Edge
Stanage Edge is the dramatic rock formation that Lizzy stands on in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice, hair and dress blowing in the wind, contemplating her feelings for Mr. Darcy.
You can stand here too (though there will probably be other people around to break up your contemplation).
You will need a car to visit this site. Stanage Edge is only a 20-minute drive from Sheffield, but you will also have to hike a bit to get to the site. This article has good directions for getting to the “Keira Knightley” spot.
If you have any other questions about visiting the Pride and Prejudice filming locations of Chatsworth House or Belton House, don’t hesitate to email me!
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