A lesser-known story of service, loyalty and garden heritage
Most people who know of Darley House’s connection with Chatsworth think of Sir Joseph Paxton, the celebrated Head Gardener at Chatsworth and designer of the Crystal Palace, who bought the house in 1845.
But before Paxton, there was another, lesser-known connection with Chatsworth — one that is quieter, more personal and, in many ways, more moving.
This is the story of the Knowltons: a family of gardeners, botanists and estate agents whose lives were closely bound to the Dukes of Devonshire for more than a century. Their story reaches from the great gardens of eighteenth-century Yorkshire to the administrative heart of Chatsworth, and finally to Darley House, where Thomas and Sarah Knowlton appear to have found a place of retirement and refuge.
This blog is only a brief overview. We are continuing to explore the layers beneath the story with the archivist at Chatsworth, who has already identified a wealth of letters and references relating to Thomas and Sarah Knowlton. It is very exciting to be able to move beyond dates and names, and begin to understand something of the people themselves. This research will also form part of Lucy’s forthcoming book, The Lives Within.
Thomas Knowlton (senior) 1691 – 1781, from ‘The history and genealogy of the Knowltons of England and America’ by Charles H W Stocking, published 1897 by The Knickerbox Press, New York. Image digitised by Boston Public Library for www.archive.org.
A family rooted in gardens and great estates
The Knowlton family had deep horticultural roots.
Thomas Knowlton junior, who later became agent at Chatsworth, was the grandson of Thomas Knowlton senior, a respected eighteenth-century gardener and botanist who worked for the Earl of Burlington at Londesborough in Yorkshire. At a time when great estates were centres not only of beauty but also of botanical knowledge and experimentation, the elder Knowlton was part of that important gardening world.
Through the close links between the Burlington and Devonshire families, the Knowlton connection eventually moved towards Chatsworth.
Thomas Knowlton junior rose to become agent or steward for the Devonshire estate. This was a position of considerable responsibility. He was not simply working in a garden; he was involved in the practical running of one of the greatest estates in England — its land, rents, accounts, tenants and wider management.
It was a role that required intelligence, organisation and absolute trust.
More than a century of Devonshire service
The Knowltons’ relationship with the Devonshire family was not brief or casual. It was a long association, built over generations.
Thomas Knowlton junior served as agent for Chatsworth from the late eighteenth century until 1819. His work also took him beyond Derbyshire, including to Lismore in Ireland, another Devonshire property. He was clearly a capable and cultivated man — a Fellow of the Linnean Society and, according to Chatsworth’s own notes, “a talented gardener”.
A later family account records that a Duke of Devonshire told the Canadian Knowlton heir that the Knowltons had been among the best agents the estate had ever had. Whether remembered formally or through family tradition, it is a powerful line. It suggests that, despite later difficulties, the Knowltons’ long service was not forgotten.
A sudden fall from favour
The most human part of the Knowlton story is also the most painful.
In 1820, following changes in estate management and the arrival of new systems and oversight, Thomas Knowlton was dismissed. Surviving correspondence suggests this was not a simple story of one clear failure, but a complex breakdown involving authority, procedure, trust and personal relationships.
For Thomas, the impact must have been devastating.
His position was not merely employment. It was his status, identity, income and life’s work. In defending himself, he reminded the Duke of the family’s long service to the Devonshires and described the distress caused by losing both his role and his livelihood.
The Duke refused to reinstate him, though Thomas was eventually granted an annuity — a gesture which perhaps recognised his years of service, even while the decision itself remained unchanged.
It may well have been this rupture that brought Thomas and his sister Sarah to Darley House. After decades close to the centre of Chatsworth estate life, Darley House seems to have offered a quieter place to live with dignity.
Sarah Knowlton: loyalty, strength and character
Sarah Knowlton is one of the most compelling figures in the story.
She appears to have been Thomas’s closest companion and strongest supporter. She wrote on his behalf, defended his conduct and remained deeply loyal to him during the painful aftermath of his dismissal.
Yet Sarah was far more than a dutiful sister in the background. Her letters suggest intelligence, confidence and a strong awareness of family identity. She maintained direct connections with the Devonshire family, corresponded with the Duke, and appears to have remained on cordial terms with Chatsworth even after her brother’s dismissal.
Later recollections describe Sarah as remarkably beautiful even in old age, benevolent, socially reserved and independent. Family tradition suggests she had once been engaged, but that her fiancé died suddenly, after which she never married. Whether this is entirely accurate or partly romanticised, it gives a sense of how she was remembered — as someone whose life was shaped by loyalty, feeling and self-containment.
There are also more vivid personal details. She is said to have kept numerous cats, even setting aside a room for them and taking them out in her carriage. These glimpses make her feel wonderfully alive: a woman of dignity and feeling, living quietly at Darley House but still connected to a much larger story.
Darley House as a place of refuge
We cannot say exactly how Thomas and Sarah Knowlton shaped the gardens at Darley House. No planting plans survive, and it would be wrong to claim more than the evidence allows.
But what we can say is that they brought with them a lifetime of experience from the world of great estates. Thomas had worked at the administrative centre of Chatsworth. Sarah had lived within the same culture of land, gardens, service and household order.
Their time at Darley House seems to have been one of quiet stewardship rather than grand transformation. Thomas is remembered as a dignified figure who continued to manage his property and direct workmen in agricultural and horticultural tasks. Even in retirement, the habits of estate life appear to have remained.
In this way, the Knowltons brought the Chatsworth connection directly into the early story of Darley House.
A story still unfolding
The more we discover, the more fascinating this story becomes.
The Knowltons connect Darley House not only with Chatsworth, but with a wider world of horticulture, estate life, family loyalty, social status and sudden change. They remind us that historic houses are not only shaped by architects and famous names, but by the quieter lives lived within them.
Their story also helps explain why Darley House has such a deep and layered connection with gardens. Before Paxton, before the Victorian glasshouse, before the better-known chapter of Darley House history, there was already a family here whose lives had been shaped by Chatsworth, land and horticultural knowledge.
For guests who love Chatsworth, historic houses and gardens, Darley House offers more than a place to stay nearby. It offers a peaceful and private connection to the wider Chatsworth story — one rooted in service, loyalty, gardens and the lives of those who came before.
The story continues
In Part 2, we continue our connection with Chatsworth through the more famous figure of Sir Joseph Paxton — Head Gardener at Chatsworth, designer of the Crystal Palace, and later owner of Darley House.
