The History of Hardwick Hall

Bess of Hardwick became a legend in her own lifetime. With four husbands and an accumulated wealth to rival the Queen of England, squire's daughter Bess went on to create two great houses: Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall. A fortune-teller once told her that if she ever stopped building, she would die - something she would never forget.

The Rise of Bess
Bess was born at what is now Hardwick Old Hall - a simple country manor house in Derbyshire. At 20, she married a local man, Robert Barley, who died leaving her penniless. But her fortunes were about to change. She caught the eye of Sir William Cavendish, who in 1549 had bought Chatsworth. When he too died young, Bess took a third husband, Sir William St Loe, and by the time of his death in 1565 Bess was a seriously rich woman.

For her fourth husband, she aimed high - one of the great 'catches' on the Elizabethan marriage market, the Earl of Shrewsbury. It was a marriage that turned the squire's daughter into a Countess. The Earl was guardian to Mary Queen of Scots and Bess saw her chance to establish a dynasty with a claim to the throne. She set about matchmaking her daughter with the brother of Lord Darnley, Mary's ex-husband. When the Earl found out he was horrified and separated from Bess.

Hardwick Anew
Undaunted, she moved back to the old family home, Hardwick Old Hall and passed the time making the hall comfortable. But she still had one more plan up her sleeve. When the Earl died in 1590, Bess, now in her seventies, embarked upon the building of an ambitious new house employing one of the greatest architects of the day, Robert Smythson.

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