The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire's Chatsworth House has launched a pilot scheme offering free entry to groups of up to eight people through a community membership card borrowed from Derbyshire Libraries. The initiative aims to widen access to the stately home and champion reading for pleasure.
First Beneficiaries of the Scheme
Kate, a 47-year-old contract worker from Swadlincote, was among the first to benefit. Despite living just 90 minutes from Chatsworth for two decades, the cost of admission had long been a barrier. She visited with her husband and two children using a free seven-day Chatsworth community membership card borrowed from Swadlincote Library.
“We’ve been to Chatsworth before just to have a walk around the grounds, which are beautiful,” she said. “But going into the house and the gardens is something we’ve never done before as a family.”
Details of the Pilot
The scheme, launched by Chatsworth House Trust in partnership with Derbyshire Libraries, allows groups of up to eight people to visit the house, gardens, and grounds at no cost. Each of the 10 participating libraries has two passes available. Since the pilot launched last month, the passes have been borrowed 110 times, quickly becoming the most borrowed item in those libraries.
Jane Marriott, director of Chatsworth House Trust, said the charity wanted to “share Chatsworth with as many people as possible” and that the partnership would “champion the value of reading for pleasure.”
Impact on Visitors
Kate described her experience: “The house itself is so opulent and beautiful. For me, the best bit was walking around places that you recognise from TV and film adaptations. I felt like I’d been there before because I’d seen it on screen.” She also enjoyed the House of Stories exhibition, featuring rare books, manuscripts, and letters, including one from Charles Dickens. “I was dragging my family back saying: ‘Look, this is really important.’”
She praised the borrow scheme over free-for-all days: “Rather than saying: ‘It’s a free day, everybody come,’ and then it’s chaos because it’s too busy, a borrow scheme means it’s just an ordinary day. You can pick the day, plan your own visit and go when you like.”
Future Prospects
Chatsworth House Trust hopes the library pass could become a model for widening access to heritage sites across the country. Councillor Alan Graves, leader of Derbyshire County Council, said the authority was “extremely proud” to partner on what he described as an “innovative pilot programme” that would help residents who “might not otherwise get the opportunity to enjoy all that Chatsworth has to offer.”
Kate added: “My kids are teenagers now and it’s not easy to find an activity that we all want to do together. But we had a really great day together. We’ve got loads of lovely memories and photos of us all wandering about in the sunshine, in beautiful gardens, having a little picnic. They’re the kind of things my kids will really remember when they’re older.”
