Hardwick Hall (part 1)

I've wanted to revisit Hardwick Hall for some time. I hadn't been there since I was a child, possibly just for a picnic in the grounds.  It is a short distance from where both sets of my grandparents lived when I was small, one couple in Mansfield, and one in Chesterfield.  Since then I have just had glimpses of the Old Hall high on the hill as I drove past on the M1 heading north.

Time to make use of the NT membership once more! Last Wednesday the weather was wet in the morning, but going north was a good move - plenty of sunshine later in the day.

After the obligatory coffee stop, we headed for the "new" Hall, and a short talk by one of the guides. 

She gave a clear and entertaining account of the life of Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, normally known as Bess. She was an astute businesswoman and eventually a very powerful woman, whose descendants include many of the present day nobility and landowners.

One of her daughters married Lord Darnley's younger brother, Charles.  After the death of both her parents, their daughter, Arbella  (Arabella) Stuart, spent a lot of time at Hardwick with her grandmother.  At one time her claim to the throne of England rivalled that of her cousin, James I (and VI).  Her story is featured throughout the house and gardens this year, the 400th anniversary of her death at the age of forty.  

Mirrors tell bits of Arbella's story - not that you can read it on this photo!

The house was built by Bess of Hardwick, when she left Chatsworth after the break up of her fourth marriage. The architect was Robert Smythson, and Hardwick Hall is in a magnificent position with views of the Derbyshire countryside to the north and west.

more glass than wall . . .

It is magnificent from the side too and the initials E S (Elizabeth of Shrewsbury - Bess of Hardwick) are clearly visible.

the ha-ha

The gardens, protected by walls, and the superb colours of the flowers

The long gallery, where guests would walk after dinner!

This year the Hall is featuring the story of Bess's grand-daughter, Arbella Stuart, who was at one time a possible candidate for the throne of England

I think I would have made a great Victorian gardener!

Near the Elizabethan mansion are the ruins of the Old Hall, also built by Bess, between 1587 and 1596 on the site of her father's  medieval manor house. For more details, see the next blog post.

Hardwick Hall (Part II - the Old Hall)

Hardwick Old Hall was the house Bess built to replace her ancestral medieval manor house in Derbyshire - that was too humble for a countess of her standing and wealth. She moved there after leaving Chatsworth when her fourth marriage - to George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury - broke down. The Old Hall was a grand house, built to impress.

Four storeys high, it also had walkways on the roofs for viewing the countryside around.

It is owned by English Heritage, and although it is a shell, there are stairs and a viewing platform, and plenty of info boards. The plasterwork overmantels can still be seen.

Looking up four floors

A kitchen fireplace

Some of the plasterwork

I wouldn't mind that view

The Hill Great Chamber, well lit, with classical detail and fine views.

The "Forest" Chamber - see the decor. A richly furnished room for formal occasions and entertainments.

The Old Hall and the New co-existed for some time after Bess died. It was in the care one of her sons, William Cavendish. The Cavendishes (Dukes of Devonshire) came to prefer Chatsworth, and the Old Hall was partly dismantled in the 1790s and fell into ruins.
For more information, check this link.

We finished our visit with a walk to the fish ponds at the bottom of the hill.