When it became known that Czar Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, might visit Chatsworth the following year, 1844, the idea of welcoming the Czar with an even higher fountain than the one at Peterhof (the Czar’s palace in N.E. Russia), appealed to the Duke. Unfortunately the Czar never visited Chatsworth, but the new fountain was still named after him. It is on record as having reached the height of 90m (300ft). It is powered by the pressure of water dropping 122m, through a 40cm iron pipe.
In 2014 we had two new nozzles made for the fountain. One is the same diameter as the original nozzle and the other is marginally narrower with the aim of creating a taller column of water similar to the one Paxton must have achieved. The more narrow nozzle, in addition to a new debris grid at Emperor Lake (which supplies the water for the fountain), ensures that there is the maximum flow of water possible and this has allowed us to achieve a height of 60m (200ft).
