Stately Homes: Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House is a spectacular stately home situated near Bakewell in the UK county of Derbyshire. It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire and has been home to the Cavendish family since 1549.

Standing on the east bank of the River Derwent, Chatsworth looks across to the low hills that divide the Derwent and Wye valleys. The house, set in expansive parkland and backed by wooded, rocky hills rising to heather moorland, contains an important collection of paintings, furniture, Old Master drawings, neoclassical sculptures, books and other artefacts. Chatsworth has been selected as the United Kingdom’s favourite country house several times

Bess of Hardwick (see Hardwick Hall) began the house in 1553, completed it in the 1560s and lived there with her fourth husband, George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury.

The house has changed and been added to several times over the last 450 years. A structural survey in 2004 showed that major renovation to the house was required. A £32 million programme of works was subsequently undertaken, including the restoration of stonework, statues, paintings, tapestries and water features. The work, the most extensive for 200 years, took ten years and was completed in 2018.

The House is constructed using nine sections which appear as a single asset in game. In addition to the house I have created a variety of prop, decal and network assets. Many of them have been used in the the main house asset and will appear automatically. The others are available to recreate the grounds.

Several of the networks have been used to set the ground level as the house is situated on a slope. To avoid too much landscaping I recommend setting a large enough area of flat ground and plopping the house in the centre.

NOTE: If the house is plopped on ‘non-flat’ ground some of the path and gravel areas may not be at the correct levels. This can be avoided by ‘following the instructions above’.

The ‘Retaining Wall’ network requires the Quay Anarchy mod otherwise you’ll get a warning that the house needs to be placed on the shoreline (not ideal). In addition the built in networks require the ‘Fine Road Tool 2’ mod otherwise you won’t be able to plop it.

The pack contains:
1. Chatsworth House main building.

Decals
1. Gravel
2. Paved

Networks
1. Stone Wall
2. Block Wall
3. Retaining Wall
4. Gravel Road
5. Gravel Path
6. Invisible Path

Props
1. Wall Ornaments 1-7
2. Terrace Steps
3. Stone Steps
4. Wall Cap
5. Balustrade
6. Balustrade Pillar
7. Side Gate
8. Main Gate
9. Central Statue

Model: 92,700 tris (yes, I know this is a lot, but I assure you it’s worth it)
LOD: 371 tris
Model texture: 2048 x 2048
LOD texture: 128 x 256

This varies with each asset.
Model texture: 1024 x 1024
LOD texture: 128 x 128

I’ve tried to make this asset as beautiful as the real building and therefore the geometry tri count is high and the textures large. Most of the texture elements have been created specifically for this asset in order for full control over the final look.

The house sections share the same textures, as do the props and networks, so if you use the Loading Screen mod the textures will be shared by all the elements and this will reduce any load on your machine.

All files in this pack use the same naming structure to speed up ‘Find It’ searches.
SH (for all stately home assets)
CH (Chatsworth House, obviously)
P (Prop)
D (Decal)
N (Network)

So, for example, a search for ‘SH CH P’ will find all the props.
The only exception is the main house which is named ‘SH Chatsworth House’ for clarity.

The separate sections that make up the house will appear in searches (not in the menus) but the main ‘SH Chatsworth House’ is the one to plop.

I will be adding new houses as and when I am able, so keep checking for updates.

1. Osborne House
2. Little Moreton Hall
3. Hardwick Hall
4. Chatsworth House

If you want to suggest a UK stately home to add to the series feel free to leave a comment and I will see if it ‘takes my fancy’.

Please try this pack out and let me know how it works for you. If there are any problems let me know in the comments below.

If you really, really like my assets please consider making a donation. I’m unable to work because of ill health and do this because I love the positive feedback I get from so many people.

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