Chatsworth Hunting Tower

Chatsworth Hunting Tower, also known as the Stand, is located on the Chatsworth estate, near Rowsley, Chatsworth

The tower was completed in 1582 for Bess of Hardwick, it was designed by the Elizabethan architect Robert Smythson, the tower stands 400 feet above the Chatsworth House and on the edge of Stand Wood. It was built either as a banqueting house or a summerhouse, the Hunting Tower was also used by the ladies to watch the hounds whilst hunting in the deer park.

The Tower’s panoramic views look out onto the park designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown for the 4th Duke during the mid 1700s. The occupation of the Hunting Tower was typically by members of the estate staff, in more recent times, the Duke’s nephew took up residency there. After an extensive period of repairs and refurbishment which finished in 2003, the Hunting Lodge is now available to be let as a holiday home.

There are a range of walks around Stand Wood, parts of which are thought to have survived from medieval times. There is also a public footpath up to the Hunting Lodge, and a range of permissive footpaths through the wood.