PARWICH MEMORIAL HALL FRIDAY
13th March 7.45pm. Free Entrance.
- Refreshments
- Raffle
- Big screen
- Silent projection
- Hi Fi Sound
- Special hi-fi headphones for those with hearing difficulties, please ask.
This Oscar winning film was filmed on location in our own Derbyshire and the Peak District at both Chatsworth House and Kedleston Hall during September and October 2007. The Based on the novel, ‘Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire’ by Amanda Foreman, the film tells the life story of Duchess Georgiana (1757 – 1806). The Duchess married from the Spencer family into the Devonshire family in the 18th century.
The film stars Keira Knightley as Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire and Ralph Fiennes as her husband William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire . Charlotte Rampling plays Lady Spencer and Dominic Cooper is Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey.
Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire like Princess Diana, her direct descendent, was beautiful, glamorous and adored by the public. But beneath her glamorous façade lay an intelligent and vulnerable woman, stranded in a loveless marriage to the Duke. She falls passionately in love with an ambitious young politician (Charles Grey, the future Prime Minister) , and the affair causes a bitter conflict with her husband and threatens to erupt into a scandal.
During the filming Kedleston Hall was used in the film to depict Althorp (the Spencer family home), Devonshire House in London and a rented villa in Bath. As well as Kedleston Hall and Chatsworth House , scenes were also filmed at Twickenham Film Studios , Bath, Holkham Hall in Norfolk , Clandon Park near Guildford in Surrey and Basildon Park in Berkshire.
The National Trust’s Kedleston Hall has a major new exhibition opening on 18 August, ‘The Duchess – Behind the Scenes’.


We were at Chatsworth last night for the opening of Lewis’s “Chatsworth Reflected” Exhibition (some great work Lewis!). They’ve also put on a small exhibition about the making of the film which includes some of the costumes, one of them being the dress shown in the poster above.
The house reopens tomorrow (11th March), so there is time to do your homework before seeing the film on Friday.
Oh, and for this season only, they have opened a former private bedroom – The Sabine Room –saucy!