War Horse Statue – Chatsworth House (UK)
We love visiting Chatsworth House and to absorb the views of the rolling hills of the Derbyshire Dales are stunning no matter what season. It is delightful to stroll around one of the finest country houses with its immaculate landscaped gardens. Inside house is in all its grandeur with priceless art, antique furniture, and gilded rooms … it is staggering beautiful. This house epitomises the Baroque bling in many ways, and, of course, that thrilled us to bits. We were taken by this life-size statue of a war horse and wanted to find out more about him.
Statue Name: War Horse
Location: Chatsworth House (Derbyshire, England)
Sculpture: Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-1993)
The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire was a close friend of Dame Elizabeth Fink and purchased the sculpture of the War Horse in 1991. The sculpture sat for 15 years in the gardens (south end of the canal pond). This statue was moved to the entrance of the Stables in 2007 and has remained there ever since.
The 4th Duke had James Paine design the building that was to become the Stables in 1760. It is a very impressive building with entrance gates featuring four Doric columns and a large carving of the family coat of arms. The stables had stalls for 80 horses and also included a blacksmith shop. In 1830, the 6th Duke added a carriage house behind the stables. Horses were house there for hundreds of years and only in 1939 did the last horse leave the stables. There have been attempts over the years to convert the stables to a cafe and nowadays stands two restaurants – The Carriage House Restaurant which is fully licensed and offer self service plus the Cavendish Restaurant that offers contemporary dining. Both are tastefully designed with a relaxed atmosphere, and I loved the hearty soup I had here as the day was cold and rainy when we visited. There is also a Snack Cabin in the Stables court yard too. Amongst the restaurants you will also find great shopping with the Carriage House Shop, The Garden Shop, The Interiors Shop and the Pantry Shop. With so many shops and restaurants in the Stable may give you an idea of how big this area is. It was east to picture where the stables were and let my imagination go back to the 18th century and picture the daily life at the Stables
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatsworth_House#Stables
http://www.chatsworth.org/plan-your-visit/shop-and-eat/shopping-at-chatsworth
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