Chatsworth

Chatsworth has a rich and varied history. Home of the Cavendish family for nearly 500 years, it consists of a 17th C Palladian mansion and extensive gardens set in a ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped parkland. Today, the 105-acre garden combines a diverse range of historic and modern features that sit seamlessly alongside each other. Historic features include: the 17th century Cascade, the 60m high gravity fed Emperor Fountain, and Joseph Paxton’s monolithic Rock Garden (1840s). More recent additions have been the Display Glasshouse (1970), a 3-acre Kitchen and Cutting Garden (1990s). The Gardens at Chatsworth are looked after by the Chatsworth House Trust.

New areas of planting have been designed by renowned garden designers. The Trout Stream at Chatsworth was used by Dan Pearson as inspiration for his 2015 ‘Best in Show’ Chelsea Garden, which was then redesigned using elements from the show garden.

Tom Stuart Smith has worked extensively in the gardens at Chatsworth on several projects including Arcadia; a 16-acre area of woodland planting in the heart of the gardens and refining the path network and planting design in Paxton’s Rock Garden.

As a trainee, you will work as part of a large established garden team. Your training will be varied, working in the Production and Ornamental Garden teams on a two-weekly rota. You will learn to care for turf, trees and shrubs, cut flowers, borders, glasshouse plants and hard landscaping whilst developing an understanding of how large historic estates open to the public operate.

Steve Porter, Head of Gardens & Landscape: “Having hosted trainees through the Professional Gardeners Guild and the Historic and Botanic Garden Training Programme at Chatsworth for many years, it is always a pleasure to see them learn, develop, fit into the team and contribute to the care of the garden. Many have now become valuable members of the team and are able to share their experience and knowledge with new trainees.”

Placements available: One

Staff numbers: 25 full-time horticulturalists; 80 volunteers; 1 HBGTP trainee and 1 PGG trainee

Ease of access: The closest train station to Chatsworth is Chesterfield. However regular buses from Chesterfield do not come all the way into to Chatsworth. The closest bus stop is Baslow (2 miles by foot). Baslow (3 miles drive) and Bakewell (5 miles drive) have shops and other amenities.

It is possible to take the train to Sheffield then take a bus from the Sheffield Interchange directly to Chatsworth. Buses run approximately every hour.

Accommodation: The garden can offer some on-site rental accommodation for trainees.