Autumn at Chatsworth - Grounds and Gardens
Chatsworth - Grounds and Gardens.
Rock Garden & Strid
The Rockery was built as a reminder of the 6th Duke’s visit to the Alps during the Grand Tour of Europe. Work began in 1842 and the stone was brought from Dobb Edge, north of Stand Wood. The largest construction, the Wellington Rock, is nearly 14m high and has a waterfall running down it. There is a maze of paths threading round and beneath the rocks.
Work also began in 1842 on the excavation of the ‘Bolton Stride’ or Strid – a narrow chasm, filled with a rushing watercourse and surrounded by further rockwork. This was based on a real feature - a chasm cut by the River Wharfe - on the Duke’s Bolton Abbey estate in Yorkshire. The surrounding rocks were planted with wild currants, bilberries and other plants brought from Bolton Abbey.
In 2002-3, partial restoration was undertaken on the much collapsed higher rockery. At the same time a platform was established with views extending west across the Strid, over the Ring Pond and Serpentine Hedge, into the Park beyond.
In 2007, the present Duchess planted a collection of dark or black flowers in a border called the Dark Side, at the northern entrance to the Rock Garden.
www.chatsworth.org/attractions-and-events/garden/about-th...
The Rockeries and The Strid: in 1842 Paxton began work on a rockery of a gargantuan scale, piling rocks weighing several tons one on top of another. One of them was described thus by Lord Desart in the 1860s: "In one place a sort of miniature Matterhorn apparently blocked the path but with the touch of the finger it revolved on a metal axis and made a way to pass." It is now locked in place to comply with health and safety regulations. Another rock is so balanced that it can be swayed with little pressure. Two rocks are named for the Queen and Prince Albert, and another for the Duke of Wellington, all of whom visited Chatsworth in the 6th Duke's time. The Wellington Rock, a construction of several rocks piled on top of each other, is 45 feet (14 m) high and a small waterfall drips over it into a pond. Sometimes in the winter the water freezes creating icicles. The water flows into a pond created by Paxton called 'The Strid', which is named after a stretch of the River Wharfe on the Devonshires' Bolton Abbey estate, where the river is compressed into a turbulent chasm just a yard wide. Chatsworth's Strid is a placid stretch of water fringed with rocks and luxuriant vegetation and crossed by a rustic bridge.
Autumn at Chatsworth - Grounds and Gardens
Chatsworth - Grounds and Gardens.
Rock Garden & Strid
The Rockery was built as a reminder of the 6th Duke’s visit to the Alps during the Grand Tour of Europe. Work began in 1842 and the stone was brought from Dobb Edge, north of Stand Wood. The largest construction, the Wellington Rock, is nearly 14m high and has a waterfall running down it. There is a maze of paths threading round and beneath the rocks.
Work also began in 1842 on the excavation of the ‘Bolton Stride’ or Strid – a narrow chasm, filled with a rushing watercourse and surrounded by further rockwork. This was based on a real feature - a chasm cut by the River Wharfe - on the Duke’s Bolton Abbey estate in Yorkshire. The surrounding rocks were planted with wild currants, bilberries and other plants brought from Bolton Abbey.
In 2002-3, partial restoration was undertaken on the much collapsed higher rockery. At the same time a platform was established with views extending west across the Strid, over the Ring Pond and Serpentine Hedge, into the Park beyond.
In 2007, the present Duchess planted a collection of dark or black flowers in a border called the Dark Side, at the northern entrance to the Rock Garden.
www.chatsworth.org/attractions-and-events/garden/about-th...
The Rockeries and The Strid: in 1842 Paxton began work on a rockery of a gargantuan scale, piling rocks weighing several tons one on top of another. One of them was described thus by Lord Desart in the 1860s: "In one place a sort of miniature Matterhorn apparently blocked the path but with the touch of the finger it revolved on a metal axis and made a way to pass." It is now locked in place to comply with health and safety regulations. Another rock is so balanced that it can be swayed with little pressure. Two rocks are named for the Queen and Prince Albert, and another for the Duke of Wellington, all of whom visited Chatsworth in the 6th Duke's time. The Wellington Rock, a construction of several rocks piled on top of each other, is 45 feet (14 m) high and a small waterfall drips over it into a pond. Sometimes in the winter the water freezes creating icicles. The water flows into a pond created by Paxton called 'The Strid', which is named after a stretch of the River Wharfe on the Devonshires' Bolton Abbey estate, where the river is compressed into a turbulent chasm just a yard wide. Chatsworth's Strid is a placid stretch of water fringed with rocks and luxuriant vegetation and crossed by a rustic bridge.