Hardwick Hall, built 1590–1597

Hardwick's long gallery in the 1890s.

Hardwick Hall (grid reference SK463637) in Doe Lea, Derbyshire is one of the most significant Elizabethan country houses in England. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude Doe Lea is a small Linear village in the English county of Derbyshire. History The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited probably briefly by humans 200000 years ago during the Aveley Interglacial as evidenced by a Middle The Tudor style in architecture is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period (1485&ndash1603 and even beyond for conservative college The English country house is generally accepted as a large House or Mansion, once in the ownership of an individual who also usually owned another Great England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland In common with its architect Robert Smythson's other works at both Longleat House and Wollaton Hall, Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English interpretation of the Renaissance style of architecture, which came into fashion when it was no longer thought necessary to fortify one's home. Robert Smythson (1535 &ndash 1614 was an English Architect. Smythson designed a number of notable houses during the Elizabethan era This article is about the stately home and related attractions Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe in which there was a

Hardwick Hall is situated on a hill top between Chesterfield and Mansfield, overlooking the Derbyshire countryside. Chesterfield is a historic Market town and local government district in Derbyshire, a County in England. Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the County, lying on the River Maun, from which the name of the town The house was designed for Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury and ancestress of the Dukes of Devonshire, by Robert Smythson in the late 16th century and remained in that family until it was handed over to HM Treasury in lieu of Estate Duty in 1956. Elizabeth Talbot Countess of Shrewsbury ( July 27[[ 527]]&ndash February 13, 1608) known as Bess of Hardwick, was the third surviving daughter Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the aristocratic Cavendish family HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing The Treasury transferred the house to the National Trust in 1959. The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organization in England, Wales As it was a secondary residence of the Dukes of Devonshire, whose main country house was nearby Chatsworth, it was little altered over the centuries and indeed, from the early 19th century, its antique atmosphere was consciously preserved. Chatsworth House is a large Country house at Chatsworth, Derbyshire, England 3½ miles north east of Bakewell.

Hardwick's skyline features six rooftop pavilions with Bess of Hardwick's initials "ES" (Elizabeth Shrewsbury) carved into the balustrade.

Hardwick is a conspicuous statement of the wealth and power of Bess of Hardwick, who was the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I herself. It was one of the first English houses where the great hall was built on an axis through the centre of the house rather at right angles to the entrance. A great hall was the main room of a royal Palace, a Nobleman 's Castle or a large Manor house in the Middle Ages, and Each of the three main storeys is higher than the one below, and a grand, winding, stone staircase leads up to a suite of state rooms on the second floor, which includes one of the largest long galleries in any English house and a little-altered, tapestry-hung great chamber with a spectacular plaster frieze of hunting scenes. A state room in a large European Mansion is usually one of a suite of very grand rooms which were designed to impress Long gallery is an architectural term given to a long narrow room often with a high ceiling The great chamber was the second most important room in a Medieval or Tudor English castle palace mansion or Manor house after the Great hall The windows are exceptionally large and numerous for the 16th century and were a powerful statement of wealth at a time when glass was a luxury: "Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall" the saying went. There is a large amount of fine tapestry and furniture from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Tapestry is a form of Textile art. It is woven by hand on a vertical Loom. Furniture is the Mass noun for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds, provide storage or hold objects on horizontal A remarkable feature of the house is that much of the present furniture and other contents are listed in an inventory dating from 1601.

Hardwick Hall contains a large collection of embroideries, mostly dating from the late 16th century, many of which are listed in the 1601 inventory. Embroidery is the Art or Handicraft of decorating fabric or other Materials with designs stitched in strands of thread or Some of the needlework on display in the house incorporates Bess's monogram "ES", and may have been worked on by Bess herself.

Hardwick Old Hall

Hardwick is open to the public. It has a fine garden, including herbaceous borders, a vegetable and herb garden an orchard. The extensive grounds also contain Hardwick Old Hall, a slightly earlier house which was used as guest and service accommodation after the new hall was built. The Old Hall is now a ruin. It is administered by English Heritage on behalf of the National Trust and is also open to the public. English Heritage is a Non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government ( Department for Culture Media and Sport) with a broad remit of

Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank selected the Hall as one of his five choices for the 2006 BBC television documentary series Britain's Best Buildings. The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Dan Cruickshank (born 26 August, 1949) is an architectural historian and Television presenter currently working for the BBC The year 2006 in television involved some significant eventsBelow is a list of Television -related events in 2006. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or another to " Document " reality Britain's Best Buildings is a BBC documentary series in which Dan Cruickshank chooses the finest examples of British architecture ^[1]

References

External links

• Hardwick Hall information at the National Trust
• Hardwick Old Hall visitor information from English Heritage
  • Hardwick Old Hall information for teachers from English Heritage
• Panoramic images and Quicktime VR movies here and here
• Several photographs of the exterior taken in 1989
• Floor plan for third floor from B. Fletcher, History of Architecture, (London, 1921) pg. 700
• Drawing of plasterwork over fireplaces, from F. Simpson, A History of Architectural Development, Vol. III. (London: Longmans, Green and Co. , 1922) p. 267, fig. 221

Coordinates: 53°10′08″N 1°18′31″W / 53.1689, -1.3086