Of This Place, I Might Have Been Mistress!

So says Lizzie when she visits Pemberley, Darcy's magnificent estate with her aunt and uncle. Because her sister, through her improper behavior, has tainted the family's reputation, Lizzie is sure, especially after refusing his offer of marriage once, that he will never ask her again.

Since we are on the Jane Austen/Eyre trail, we planned to visit both 'Pemberleys' from the 1995 BBC version with Colin Firth (our favorite), and the latest Kiera Knightley version. We tried the impossible and succeeded to see those two and Haddon Hall, which is where our favorite 2006 BBC version of Jane Eyre was filmed. Two were only three miles apart, but our favorite Pemberley was over an hour away. I can't tell you all the people who helped us get to our destinations, and the situations that made it possible, but, it was truly amazing to us. 

First, we visited Chatsworth House, which is where Kiera's version was filmed:

The outside was featured, as well as two locations in the house itself:

The Great Hall. . .

And, of course, the sculpture gallery (not my usual photography, but I wanted to be discreet):

                       

                       A little angel caught my eye . . .

This house original owners were Bess of Hartwick (Henry VIII) and her husband, and eventually was completely remodeled and became the resident of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. The present D&D love modern art, and have pieces in almost every room. It was a little irritating to see it mixed in with Tudor and Medieval art! But, there were a few fascinating pieces:

A cozy library and seating area. . . 

A chair in the sculpture gallery. . .

And the DNA of the present family interpreted as a 3D wall covering!

This one is more my taste: a former duchess painted as Diana, goddess of the moon and hunt. . .

Well, this post isn't about art, so on we go to our favorite Pemberley . . .owned by Colin Firth as Darcy:

They call this the 'iconic' view of Pemberley. The one you see in all the photos. Funny thing is, in the film, Lizzie and her aunt and uncle were brought to the back door via the circular drive:

Here is the area where Lizzie and Darcy took a 'turn' in the garden together, which is to the right of the back door:

And here is the gate through which she would have come:

And just look at the beautiful scenery around Lyme Park:

Unfortunately, we arrived to late in the afternoon to take the tour of the interior, but, since nothing was filmed inside, we didn't really mind. We were just thrilled that we made it onto the grounds so we could take pics. The Vistor's center was just closing as we walked up, but the young lady gave us ample information to make our visit a success!

In between the Pemberleys, we toured Haddon Hall, the location for the filming of our favorite 2006 BBC version of 'Jane Eyre':

I can't even describe what it was like to see this 'castle' . . .we were oooing and ahhhing the entire visit. Feeling as if we fell back into time, we fully expected to see Jane walk down these stairs:

Here is the great hall were many scenes were filmed. I was disappointed that the 'Tudors' were doing their reenactments, but you can get an idea of the space:

Here is the little room where Adele, her charge, took her lessons:

Then we went into the garden and were completely overwhelmed with its charm:

                

                                   

                                                       

Some views of the backside of Haddon Hall (Thornfield, Mr. Rochester's home in Jane Eyre):

                    

                                  

                                                       

And the beautiful surroundings:

And a few parting shots of us . . .

We just couldn't get enough of this place! So, next time, it will be a full Jane Eyre experience . . .