The story of Elizabeth (or Bess) of Hardwick is interesting as this home is a testament to her determination to create a dynasty. Married four times, she bore children only in her second marriage to Sir William Cavendish. With him, she began the building of Chatsworth. When Sir William died, Chatsworth passed to his eldest son, so Bess bought the Old Hall at Hardwick which had belonged to her childless brother, in the name of her second son, William.

Bess could not know at the time that William would be able to buy Chatsworth from his elder brother and for a mere 10,000 pounds the title of Earl of Devonshire. So both homes came to be the property of the Devonshire family. Today, Hardwick, sold for death duties not that many years ago, is run by the National Trust.

Bess built her new Hardwick right next to the Old Hall, which is just a shell today. The house that you see has a number of dominant features including the walls of glass. The windows of the third floor are the largest… that is where the State Rooms are. The windows of the ground floor are the smallest… that was the working area of the Hall. The collection of tapestries here is staggering – most of the walls are covered in them. The house is adorned with Bess’s initials and the symbol that is woven into the fabrics of the house is the knotted snake (wisdom).

One enters through a great hall and climbs to the top floor reception room which is absolutely magnificent after which there is a long gallery hung with Elizabethan portraiture on tapestry-covered walls; like the exterior, it is a feast of symmetry.

The visit is extensive; as a Trust property, you will see much. There are a number of significant bedrooms – three on the top floor, one of which contains furniture belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots. On the second floor, you’ll see the state dining room with its Elizabethan paneling and a collection of 17th and 18th century portraits above. Over the fireplace is the admonition, “The conclusion of all things is to feare God and keepe His commandments.”

The rest of the second floor contains, not Elizabethan furniture, but like the dining room, comfortable furniture for the house which was occupied by Duchess Evelyn until 1960 when she died and the house went to the trust. Hardwick is a must-see, partially because of its Elizabethan grandeur and partially due to the story of Bess of Hardwick.