October 2, 2014

The Death of a Duchess

Deborah, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire died earlier this week and her funeral was held on Thursday. She lived a fascinating life, as you can read here, and never thought, when she was married, that she’d end up taking charge of her husband’s family’s extensive estate and completely turning it around.  She and her husband inherited Chatsworth, one of England’s most stately homes and were promptly saddled by millions in death duties after her brother-in-law’s death during WWII. chatstworth

The house had been open to the public, but she re-opened it with a vengeance, and after about 20 years, paid off the death duties and started making a profit. But a 35,000 acre estate doesn’t run itself, and more than 600 people work estate.

As a mark of their utmost respect for the Dowager Duchess, the staff took part in the funeral service for her, held on the property, which includes both a chapel and a graveyard. The entire staff, all wearing their traditional uniforms, lined the drive from the house to the chapel in respect for her, and after the cortege passed, they fell in behind it. imageimageimage

In addition to the staff, hundreds of members of the general public also came to pay their respects. image

The Dowager Duchess’s body had been placed in a wicker casket that was decorated with holly and ivy from the property.imageimage

The Duchess was a massive fan of Elvis Presley’s and even made a trip to Memphis to see Graceland. Elvis’s song “How Great Thou Art” was played at her funeral service.

After the service, the gardens and grounds were opened for a huge tea to celebrate the life of the Duchess.image

Deborah, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire was an amazing woman who made the most of an unexpected life. image

Well done, you!

15 comments:

  1. And we'll done, you too! Lovely tribute.

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  2. Crazy about the wicker casket. Having a giggle at the thought of Debo roaming the hallowed halls of Chatsworth with "Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog" spinning on the hi fi.

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  3. Thank you for this wonderful post about a wonderful lady! I too, love the wicker casket; this should be a standard option for all burials.

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  4. She will be greatly missed. A woman in every sense of the word and an example to all.
    Mary

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  5. Thank you, I'm going to read her memoir. I visited Chatsworth on my honeymoon.

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  6. she was one great lady + adored the wicker casket. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

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  7. Talk about going out in style. Send me out in wicker, please.

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  8. Looks like she read her sister's book on American funerals.....

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  9. The gamekeepers are especially striking as pallbearers, wearing the estate tweed.

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  10. Thank you Meg, a very fine and fitting tribute to an amazing woman!

    xoxo
    Karena
    The Arts by Karena

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  11. Meg, this is a beautiful, loving tribute. Chatsworth is an amazing property. Kudos to the Duchess for all she did to sustain it.

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  12. Lovely post, Meg. I've always have enjoyed reading about her and had not heard she had passed away until your post.

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  13. Great post - what a story! And I'm sure you meant Elvis' *version* of the song "How Great Thou Art". The song was written based on an 1885 poem by Carl Gustav Boberg.

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  14. A good time to re-read sister Nancy Mitford's (do I have the name quite right?) wonderful books, Love in a Cold Climate and so on..... Thank you for the very moving pictures!

    Ceci

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  15. I read this post a few days ago and went on to research more about the Duchess and all her sisters. I was familiar with the sisters but never really looked into it all until now - fascinating to say the least. I've finally ordered Love in a Cold Climate. I then watched a interview with the Duchess on YouTube - she was quite old at the time and she had a great sense of humor. Thanks for the post!

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