Colonialism Research

Chatsworth House Trust is committed to being rigorous, diligent, transparent, curious and responsible with the heritage in its care.

With the full support of the Devonshire family, the Trust is exploring the archives, collections and heritage at Chatsworth, to identify and understand any historic references to the transatlantic slave trade, the British Empire and colonialism.

Through the work we are doing with expert advisors and communities with lived experience, or close links to the history of colonialism and slavery, we have started to share new narratives with our audience and through our visitor experiences.

To inform and guide our research, we work in partnership with academics and PhD students from our partner universities, including the University of Derby, the University of Oxford and the White Rose University Consortium.

This research is helping us understand Chatsworth’s historic economic and cultural intersections with slavery, colonialism and empire. We are committed to sharing this work and the stories we may discover, with the public as it develops.