Hardwick Hall
Hardwick Hall | ||
---|---|---|
OS grid reference SK 463 637 | | |
Built | 1590–1597 | |
Architect | Robert Smythson | |
Architectural style(s) | Renaissance | |
Owner | National Trust | |
Listed Building – Grade I | ||
Official name | Hardwick Hall | |
Designated | 11 Jul 1951 | |
Reference no. | 1051617 | |
Hardwick Hall in
After ownership for centuries by the Cavendish family and the line of the Earl of Devonshire and the Duke of Devonshire, ownership of the house was transferred to the Treasury in 1956 and then to the National Trust in 1959. The building was approaching ruin and required stabilisation and restoration.[1]
The Hall is fully open to the public and received 298,283 visitors in 2019.[2]
History
16th century
Sited on a hilltop between
Bess of Hardwick was the richest woman in England after
The house's design also demonstrated new concepts not only in domestic architecture, but also of a more modern way in which life was led within a great house. Hardwick was one of the first English houses where the great hall was built on an axis through the centre of the house, rather than at right angles to the entrance.
Each of the three main storeys has a higher ceiling than the one below, the ceiling height being indicative of the importance of the rooms' occupants: least noble at the bottom and grandest at the top.
A wide, winding, stone staircase leads up to the
The architecture was influential, and in March 1608 the
17th century
Following Bess's death in 1608, the house passed to her son William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire. His great-grandson, William, was created 1st Duke of Devonshire in 1694. The Devonshires made Chatsworth, another of Bess's great houses, their principal seat. Hardwick thus was relegated to the role of an occasional retreat for hunting and sometime dower house. As a secondary home, it escaped the attention of modernisers and received few alterations after its completion.
The famed political philosopher Thomas Hobbes died at the Hall in December 1679. For the previous four or five years, Hobbes had lived at Chatsworth. Hobbes had been a friend of the family since 1608 when he first tutored William Cavendish.[6] After his death, many of Hobbes' manuscripts were found at Chatsworth House.[7]
19th century
From the early 19th century, the antique atmosphere of Hardwick Hall was consciously preserved. A low, 19th-century
In 1844, William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire published a book called Handbook to Chatsworth and Hardwick. It was privately printed and provided a history of the Cavendish family's two estates.[8]
20th century
In 1950, the unexpected death of the
Today
Hardwick Hall contains a large collection of
Hardwick is open to the public. It has a fine garden, including herbaceous borders, a vegetable and herb garden, and 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. Many of the Old Hall's major rooms were decorated with ambitious schemes of plasterwork, notably above the fireplaces. Remarkably, impressive fragments of these are still to be seen (protected by preservative coatings and rain-shields), though most of the building is unroofed.
Both Hardwick Hall and the Old Hall are Grade I listed (the highest designation) by Historic England.[11][12]
In March 2012, a £6.5m restoration was completed; this included the addition of a large restaurant.[15] In December 2020, three years of additional restoration had been completed and further work was being planned.[16]
In modern media
Hardwick Hall was the setting for the 10-part BBC series Mistress of Hardwick, broadcast in 1972.[
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in Derbyshire
- Listed buildings in Ault Hucknall
- Chatsworth House
- Stainsby Mill
References
- ^ "History of Hardwick Old Hall". English Heritage. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ "ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions". www.alva.org.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- ^ a b Burke, James (1978). Connections. London: BBC Books. pp. 157–164.
- ^ Another version is "more window than wall." Sir Nikolaus Pevsner writes, "The little rhyme is: 'Hardwick Hall, more window than wall.' Nikolaus Pevsner, A History of Building Types. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976, p. 324, note 80.
- ^ Edmund Lodge, Illustrations of British History, vol. 3 (London, 1791), p. 350.
- ^ "Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)". BBC. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ISBN 0199247145.
- ^ "Handbook of Chatsworth and Hardwick". Chatsworth. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ Chatsworth: Home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire; Derbyshire Countryside Ltd; 2005: p56.
- ISBN 978-1-84359-217-4.
- ^ Historic England. "Hardwick Hall (Grade I) (1051617)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Hardwick Old Hall (Grade I) (1052337)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ Cruickshank, Dan. "Britain's Best Buildings". BBC Four. Archived from the original on 20 August 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
- ^ Nikolaus Pevsner, A History of Building Types. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976, p. 248.
- ^ "Duke of Devonshire opens Derbyshire's Hardwick Hall after revamp". BBC News. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ "Hardwick Hall Building Repairs Project". National Trust. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ "Harry Potter scenes shot at Derbyshire's Hardwick Hall". BBC Derby. 24 November 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
Further reading
- Adshead, David and Taylor, David A. H. B., editors, Hardwick Hall: a Great Old Castle of Romance, Yale University Press, 2016.
- Durant, David N., Bess of Hardwick, Peter Owen Publishers, 1999 (Revised edition).
- Durant, David N., The Smythson Circle, Peter Owen Publishers, 2011.
External links
- Hardwick Hall information at the National Trust
- Images of Hardwick Hall taken by Photographer John Gay
- Detailed Tour of the Hardwick Estate
- Listing Building Images of Hardwick Hall
- Hardwick Old Hall visitor information 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
- Hardwick Hall, Doe Lea Robert Smythson for Bess Hardwick, 1597 (Floor plans and plan of grounds) PDF by London Metropolitan University