Captain's Log 

The Great Hall

I entered the front entrance and managed to escape the NT Greeter's attention without suffering much damage. The entrance took me into the Great Hall, a huge space that supported a balcony at the entrance end. A massive fireplace of  Xanadu proportions was on my right. Above this was a huge plasterwork of Elizabeth of Shrewsbury's coat of arms. On each side  were the Cavendish stags, the Duke of Devonshire family heraldic beasts.  A long table bisected the hall. I had hoped that it would be brighter inside the house with all those windows, but it was just as gloomy as all the country pads that I'd visited. Presumably, the main reason was to prevent the house's copious tapestries from fading in the sunlight. All these houses have a backstory and I went in search of the one for Hardwick Hall. I didn't have to go far; there was plenty of evidence already in the Great Hall.

Bess

Bess was born in Hardwick Old Hall, the derelict building next door, although I doubt whether it was in a similar state in the 1520s. I’m pretty sure that if One Armed Bandits existed in the 16th century, then Bess would have hit the jackpot every time. She married four times, and each one left her considerably better off financially. She seems to have been a bit of a femme fatale, although that isn’t the spin that the National Trust information boards give to the story. Here is the list of her unfortunate husbands:

1. Robert Barley/Barlow (married 1543) - husband died the same year...not a good start...or maybe it was?

2. William Cavendish (married 1547) - died 1557 - loaded with money and bought the nearby Chatsworth Estate. Bess went to live there with him.

3. Willam St Loe (married 1559) - died 1564 - left Bess his fortune

4. George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury (married 1567) - died 1590 - one of the richest men in the kingdom.

As you can see, financially she was incredibly lucky. In fact, she became the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I. Rather than spending her money on helping the poor, feeding the hungry and assisting humanity's progress, she spent it on building Hardwick Hall instead, to demonstrate her wealth and power.  This is my narrative on the backstory and not the National Trust's. Hardwick Hall was constructed between 1590-98 and during this time she added the massive tapestries that one can see and admire today. She never married again. Her male friends may have been impressed by her wealth, but spooked by the way she had the tendency to recycle husbands. She died in 1608 at the Hall. 

Ground Floor

I took a tour of the ground floor of the north wing first. My favourite room had to be the one holding all the important documents of the house. It was a comparatively small room with one window, but all the other walls were faced with a multitude of wooden drawers. Each drawer was numbered. Presumably there must have been an index held somewhere. I could see numbers at least up to 480. I’d love to have something similar in my house although it must have been a bugger to find something that had been put in the wrong drawer by mistake. 

There had been some huge tapestries hung in the Great Hall, and the theme continued as I made my way up a worn stone staircase to the first floor. The themes of the tapestries varied: some biblical, some mythological, some historical, some depicting foreign lands. They all told a story, although it was difficult and mostly impossible to interpret the narrative. Given that they were faded and due to the restricted lighting, it was very difficult to get a true impression of how they might have appeared when they were first created. 

First Floor

I reached the first floor and entered the High Great Chamber, a brighter and cheerier place. It had an elaborate and imposing plasterwork frieze around the top of the room depicting the Hunt of Diana. Huge Tapestries hung below the frieze. A couple of throne-like chairs were positioned at the far end of the room. There was a large portrait of Queen Elizabeth I on display. I overheard the NT Greeter saying the remarkable dress that the Queen was wearing was a birthday gift from Bess. There was no denying that it was an incredible dress, but I was slightly disappointed to find that she’d chosen to wear a pair of ‘Crocs’ on her feet. I suppose comfort conquers all.         

There was a wonderful wooden table in the room that had interesting engravings on it. An information board told me it was the ‘Aeglentyne’ table and one of the rarest surviving pieces of furniture in England. The ‘Aeglentyne’ (sweet briar rose) formed part of the Hardwick arms.      

I entered the Long Hall. As you might expect, it was a long room that ran along the east side of the house. It must have been a bright and cheery place back in the day, but with all the curtains shut, it had a gloomy feel to it. The tapestries in this room were based around Gideon. ‘They are some of the largest and most expensive in the world’ an information board told me. This goes some way to explain why my recent National Trust membership renewal had left me about £100 poorer. The thirteen tapestries depicted the story of Gideon, his army and his God. It was easy to spot Gideon in the tapestries since he wore elaborate blue and gold stockings in each one. They reminded me of some socks I once received as a Christmas present from my brother, obviously an unwanted present that had been given to him. Despite the temptation, I never got to wear them and they ended up in a charity bag. It was with satisfaction that I could reflect that my Gideon socks gave some pleasure to some other member of the community.

I left the Long Hall and wandered along the rooms on the west side of the house. These were bedrooms and living areas. I came across a room that had a picture of the Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley. Looking at the picture, I wasn’t 100% sure who was who in the portrait. It crossed my mind that gender politics might even have been prevalent back in the 16th century. Mary Queen of Scots was held captive for 19 years under the watchful eye of the earl of Shrewsbury and Bess of Hardwick. Mary sewed to pass the time, and one of her works on display showed the lily of France, the thistle of Scotland and the rose of England. Maybe, not the most politically astute work that she ever completed. Possibly something more subtle might have been better, such as a picture of a metal file baked into a cake, as something that might be useful to gain her freedom.    

 Another room had an interesting, ornate table. At least, the legs of the table were interesting. Each of the four posts were of a fantasy sea-dog. The wings and scaly tails of the sea-dogs were fair play, but the bare, large protruding breasts? I would have loved to have seen Bess’s face when she was presented this by the furniture maker. The National Trust was impressed by it though; ‘It is one of the most significant pieces of 16th century furniture to survive in England’ claimed the information board.    

In one of the other rooms a plasterwork piece above the fireplace displayed the following: ‘The Conclusion Of All Thinges Is To Feare God And Keepe His Commandementes’. I wondered that John Milton’s line ‘Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven’ could have been added as an alternative view, although I appreciate that the line from Paradise Lost wouldn’t be written until another 50 years after Bess’s death. 

Kitchen And Gardens

I made my way down some worn stairs to the ground floor again. The kitchen was large and hosted multiple ovens. The room was dominated by two large stone supporting columns that disappeared into the ceiling. The shelves were adorned with copper pans and kettles although I doubt whether they would have been so shiny when they’d actually been used. I departed from the house through the kitchen door. It was nice to be back into the bright sunshine again.       

I wandered around the edge of the house to its east side and entered a large lawned area that had an ornate pool at its centre. The east side of the house was just as imposing as the west side, but had a brighter disposition about it. I could imagine Bess sat out on this lawn, doing a bit of sunbathing and enjoying a barbecue later in the day.

The rest of the gardens didn’t really cover a large area, but they were pretty enough. The National Trust had let the grass grow long on some of the lawns in an insect friendly way. It was pleasant walking around the garden paths with some good views of the house through the trees and flowers.  

It had been an interesting wander around Hardwick Hall and its gardens. I’d learnt about Bess and her fortunes. I’d also ticked another item on my Bucket List; I’d finally got around to visiting that impressive house that’s visible from the M1 as you travel along it near Bolsover.