Lady Violet Manners calls it 'a travesty' stately homes including The Crown's Belvoir Castle and Chatsworth House can't open their doors this Christmas because of Covid-19 restrictions

• Chatsworth House announced it won't open it's doors on December 2 as planned
• Stately home is in Derbyshire which was placed in Tier 3 restrictions yesterday
• Shared an Instagram to say it hoped it could open later upon review of rules
• Social media users called the news 'a tragedy' and 'just heartbreaking' 
• Lady Violet Manners was among those critical of news, saying it was 'a travesty' 

Lady Violet Manners has called it a 'travesty' that stately homes including Belvoir Castle can't open their doors this Christmas because of new Covid-19 restrictions. 

Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, which is known across the country for it's festive decorations and huge Christmas trees, shared an Instagram post yesterday revealing: 'We are very sorry to announce that due to Derbyshire being placed in tier 3, we are unable to open the house for Christmas as planned on 2 December.' 

Many social media users were left devastated by the news, with one commenting: 'This is tragic. I’m so sorry for you all after all the effort you put in. We come to Chatsworth every Christmas and look forward to it all year. We have tickets for the 12th but we don’t want a refund.'  

Meanwhile Lady Violet, who lives in The Crown's Belvoir Castle with her parents, reshared the post, writing: 'Just a travesty that places like Chatsworth,  Haddon etc. can't open their doors this Christmas.

+3

Lady Violet Manners has called it a 'travesty' that stately homes including Belvoir Castle and Chatsworth House can't open their doors this Christmas because of new Covid-19 restrictions

'They spend months and months planning Christmas installations for us to enjoy.'

In another Instagram post, she criticised the government for their new restrictions, saying: 'Weeks and weeks of effort, only to be told Belvoir Castle is in Tier 3 and the Christmas market and Grotto can't open. 'This really is beyond a joke now.' 

She went on to hashtag her comments: '#NannyState' and 'GovernmentOverReach.'   

+3

Stately home Chatsworth House announced yesterday that it would not open as planned on December 2 due to Covid-19 restrictions in Derbyshire 

Announcing the news they couldn't open as they had planned on December 2, Chatsworth commented: 'Tiers are reviewed every two weeks and we hope to be able to open on the 16th.

What are tier three restrictions? 

Tier Three is the toughest level of restrictions and rules have been tightened up to make them stricter than before. 

The rules are as follows - 

• People from separate households cannot meet indoors and the rule of six applies outside;
• Pubs must close unless operating as restaurants, with alcoholic drinks served alongside meals;
• Indoor entertainment venues such as cinemas, theatres and bowling alleys must close; 
• Pubs, restaurants and cafes must close except for takeaway; 
• Shops and hairdressers and salons will be allowed to remain open; 
• Groups of six will be allowed to meet outdoors only; 
• Crowds at live events will be banned; 
• People should avoid travelling out of, or into, Tier Three areas unless it is unavoidable. 

 'We will be contacting all those with tickets for visits to the house between 2-15 December to provide refunds, you do not need to contact us.

'The garden with our outdoor Christmas lights, and estate farm shop remain open. 

'The farmyard will reopen on 2 December, as will our gift shops. Further updates will be posted as we have them. We hope to see you soon.'

Social media users said they had been left devastated by the news, with one saying: 'Disgraceful decision by those in London with no idea. There are boroughs of London with twice the infection rates and rising that have been put in Tier 2.'

One wrote: 'This is just heartbreaking to read we are so so saddened.' 

Another added: 'Really sad to hear this. We were looking forward to coming up again this year as last year was amazing. Fingers crossed we’ll be able to visit soon.' 

It comes as Boris Johnson faces fury at 'vague and inconsistent' rules for allocating Tiers after he imposed brutal lockdowns on nearly 99 per cent of England.  

Just 700,000 people - one per cent of the population - will be subject to the loosest grade of restrictions. Before November 5 there were 29million in the lowest tier.

Meanwhile, around 55million residents will be in the toughest two levels after the blanket national lockdown ends on December 2.

The announcements sparked a huge backlash, with anger at the lack of firm thresholds for entering and leaving Tiers, and many local MPs in low-infection areas enraged at being lumped together with nearby hotspots.

The government has published a narrative explanation of why each area is going into each tier, but has dismissed calls to use numerical trigger points.

+3

Meanwhile Lady Violet's home of Belvoir Castle also announced it would not be able to open it's Christmas market and grotto 

Lady Violet took to social media to criticise the government over the Covid-19 rules, calling it 'a travesty' that stately homes couldn't open