Andrew Cavendish, 84; British Noble Opened Family Estate to Tourists

Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 84, the 11th Duke of Devonshire whose vast Chatsworth estate became one of Britain’s most visited grand houses open to tourists, died of unspecified causes Monday in his mansion.

To settle an estate tax bill of $19.6 million in 1950, the newly titled duke sold off family treasures and opened the 17th century house to the public. With the help of his wife, Deborah, Chatsworth was soon attracting half a million paying visitors a year. The 297-room home contains a renowned private art collection and is surrounded by 35,000 acres of land in the heart of a national park in Derbyshire.

In addition to the house, the estate now includes a hotel, garden center and a shop selling meat and produce from the farm, as well as merchandise for sale online.

A Cambridge-educated second-born son, Cavendish became the 11th duke at his father’s death in 1950, after his older brother, William, was killed in World War II. The duke also served in the army and in the early 1960s was a minister in the government of his uncle, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.