An inquisitive eye, an acquisitive nature

Mary Leland enjoys a talk by Peregrine Cavendish — the Duke of Devonshire — on his family’s extensive collection

THE talk at Lismore Castle last week by Peregrine Cavendish, the 12th Duke of Devonshire, on ‘Collecting Past and Present’ was hugely enjoyable and informative.

Cavendish, a descendant of that Earl of Cork who made Lismore his residence nearly five centuries ago, didn’t dwell for long on the treasury already garnered for his stately home at Chatsworth in Derbyshire. He reveres it, but his taste and that of his wife Amanda is in thrall to the contemporary. When he spoke about the extraordinary artistic riches of Chatsworth, it was with affectionate expertise.