Hardwick Hall

County: Derbyshire

Month Visited: February 2018

Upon arrival, you drive through a good 5-10 minutes of the grounds of the property, which allows you to see the sheer size of the property. Therefore the walking difficulty of this property can be completely tailored to you. The visitor centre, cafe and other miscellaneous buildings greet you upon arrival, the walk through to the halls is fairly flat

House

Old vs. New

There are two Hardwick halls on the property – old and new! The old hall is owned by English Heritage and sits right next to the ‘new’ hall. For National Trust members, entry to this site is free, however prices for non NT and non EH members are £6.50 (Adult) and £3.90 (Child). 

Bess of Hardwick was the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I, and her house was conceived to be a conspicuous statement of her wealth and power. The windows are exceptionally large and numerous at a time when glass was a luxury, leading to the saying:

"Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall."

In 1547 Bess met and married Sir William Cavendish, a 40-year-old widower and father of three. Together they bought the Derbyshire estate of Chatsworth, built a new house there, and made it their main country seat.

After the collapse of her fourth marriage, Bess fled from Chatsworth in 1584 to her family estate at Hardwick. Whilst Hardwick Old hall is now derelict and open to the elements you can still identify each room.

 

In 1590, before the Old Hall was complete, Bess started to build another house immediately beside this it – the New Hall – this time using a professional architect, Robert Smythson. 

Bess died in 1608, leaving her son William Cavendish in charge of Hardwick. He was the founder of the Cavendish family, Dukes of Devonshire, who are still based at the Chatsworth estate that Bess and his father had bought. The dukes eventually came to prefer Chatsworth over Hardwick, and partially dismantled the Old Hall in the 1750s, which gradually became ruinous. Its open interior was planted with specimen trees in 1793.

Gardens / Grounds

The grounds here are vast and therefore the walking trails can be beginner to intermediate, based on what you make it.  We opted to go 'off the track' and down a particularly muddy trail, wellington boots were definitely necessary. However, for the more structured there are 4 set walking trails all defined by colour which appears to have clear paths and upon arrival you are given a walking trail guide if you wish to walk. Due to visiting in February the Garden looked a little dull but that didn't detract us from walking around! In the summer I suspect this would be lovely.

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RATING

Summary

-Located in Derbyshire

-Elizabethan 

-Renaissance Architectural Style
-Both Halls are Grade 1 listed

-This is a National Trust Property, with an English Heritage Property on the grounds

-Cafe and Toilets are available on site

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INFORMATION

Address Doe Lea, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S44 5QJ

Telephone +441246850430

Email hardwickhall@nationaltrust.org.uk

Website https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hardwick-hall 

Parking £4.00 (on top of usual entry costs) 

Nearest Station Chesterfield