Chatsworth House Trust has submitted a grant application for nearly £5 million to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for further funding to restore its Grade I listed water feature, the Cascade.
To mark the occasion, author, broadcaster, and friend of Chatsworth, Alan Titchmarsh, hosted a panel talk, which included Jane Marriott (Director of Chatsworth House Trust), Sarah Owen (Director of Development), Rob Harrison (Head of Operations), and Steve Porter (Head of Gardens and Landscape). They shared the progress to date, the public fundraising campaign, the significant next steps, and fond memories of the Cascade.
The Cascade has been a highlight of the Chatsworth Garden for more than three centuries. The original design was completed in 1696 by Monsieur Grillet, a French hydraulics engineer who had worked on the waterworks of Louis XIV of France. Grillet's design was shorter and, in some ways, more complicated than the one we see today. Learn about its history here.
The water flows over 23 steps that descend approximately 60 metres to mimic natural waterfalls. It takes advantage of the rainwater that drains from the east moors and collects in ponds on the hillside of the Derwent Valley within the Chatsworth Estate.
Unfortunately, centuries of use have weakened the Cascade and to prevent further deterioration, the Cascade has been turned off and the water will not flow for the foreseeable future.
Chatsworth House Trust has undertaken a major restoration project to preserve and safeguard the Cascade for future generations. The full restoration project has been costed at over £7 million over the course of several years and is urgently needed due to rapid structural deterioration caused by the continual leakage of water through the mortar and joints in the stonework into the surrounding landscape, including a 19th-century tunnel driven underneath the fountain which was once used to supply the Great Conservatory with coal.
As part of the fundraising campaign, the Trust is asking for the support of the many people who love the Cascade to help raise a small portion of the vital funds needed to restore it to full working glory. Supporters are invited to ‘sponsor a stone’ for themselves, their family or a friend, in return for a certificate which will identify the exact location of the specific stone they have sponsored.
The Trust’s goal is to raise £250,000 from donations. So far, £80,000 has been raised. Alongside the restoration, the Trust will also work with schools and local charities to design learning programmes and promote the health and well-being benefits of being in nature.
Sarah Owen, Director of Development at Chatsworth, said: “The Cascade is one of the most popular features at Chatsworth and ‘Celebrating the Cascade’ is a major project to ensure its long-term preservation for visitors for years to come.
“As well as raising vital funds for the restoration, we hope this project will also be a positive step in helping to continue to diversify and widen the reach and engagement of people who may not previously have considered Chatsworth a place for them. Our aim is to encourage greater access, with the creation of a public outreach programme to make the Cascade, and the entire garden at Chatsworth, feel more accessible and exciting for visitors and learners of all ages, and with a wide range of needs.”
Learn more
To find out more about the project and to become a part of this exciting chapter of the Cascade’s history by sponsoring a stone, visit our dedicated Celebrating the Cascade website.
Images: 1. The Cascade at Chatsworth, 2. Alan Titchmarsh in the Cascade House, 3. Rob Harrison in the Coal Tunnel running under the Cascade, 4. Alan Titchmarsh with his Sponsor at Stone certificate.
