Chatsworth launches 'sponsor a stone' public appeal to support Cascade restoration cost of £7million

Chatsworth House Trust is asking for support from the many people who love the water feature to help raise a small portion of the money needed to revive it. Supporters are invited to ‘sponsor a stone’, in return for a certificate that will indentify the location of that stone.

The trust’s goal is to raise £250,000 from donations big and small from visitors and Friends of Chatsworth House. This vital support will help when the trust applies for further funding of nearly £5 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Built over 325 years ago, the Cascade is a feat of engineering, nature-inspired design and sustainability. It forms part of a complex system of waterworks that use the natural incline of the landscape to channel water from the moors to the river, feeding the garden water features and, since 1893, powering a turbine that provides electricity for the house before flowing into the River Derwent.

The Grade I listed monument includes a temple housing 13 spouts and fountains from which water normally runs down over 23 different shaped and textured giant stone steps, each formed of over 100 individual stones.

Sadly for the many visitors who love to paddle in the water, the Cascade has now been turned off due to the severe deterioration of the structure.

For many years, water has been leaking through the mortar and joints in the Cascade’s stonework into the surrounding landscape and down into a tunnel driven underneath the fountain in the 19th century to supply the Great Conservatory with coal.

As part of the restoration project, the trust is working with schools and local charities to create learning programmes around the history and engineering of the Cascade and the works to restore it, as well as events to celebrate the health and wellbeing benefits of being in nature and near water.

The appeal’s launch comes after the charity was granted £422,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This award, made possible thanks to National Lottery players, helped kick-start the ‘Celebrating the Cascade’ project in April 2023.

Sarah Owen, Director of Development at Chatsworth, said: “The Cascade is one of the most popular features at Chatsworth and ‘Celebrating the Cascade’ is a major project to ensure its long-term preservation for visitors for years to come.

“As well as raising vital funds for the restoration, we hope this project will also be a positive step in helping to continue to diversify and widen the reach and engagement of people who may not previously have considered Chatsworth a place for them. Our aim is to encourage greater access, with the creation of a public outreach programme to make the Cascade, and the entire garden at Chatsworth, feel more accessible and exciting for visitors and learners of all ages, and with a wide range of needs.”

To find out more about the project and sponsor a stone, visit https://cascade.chatsworth.org.