Hardwick Hall

Doe Lea, Derbyshire.

One of the most significant Elizabethan country houses in England and is open to the public.

It was a conspicuous statement of wealth and power by one of the richest women in England after Queen Elizabeth herself.

The house was designed for Bess of Hardwick, the Countess of Shrewsbury, and ancestress
of the Dukes of Devonshire. It was built between 1590 and 1597 and remained in the family
(as the second residence of the Dukes of Devonshire) until
1956 when it was handed to the National Trust.

The windows are extremely large and numerous for the period when use of glass was a statement of wealth.

"Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall" as the saying went.

Bess of Hardwick's initials are carved in the balustrades on the roof. They stand for Elizabeth of Shrewsbury.

Next to it lie the ruins of Hardwick Old Hall.

 

Source: Wikipedia

 

Bess of Hardwick's memorial in Derby Cathedral.