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Hardwick Hall, Chesterfield, Derbyshire added to National Trust in East Midlands by D0c.Col on 15/06/2023

National Trust's Hardwick Hall

Hardwick Hall was the home of one of the most influential women during the Elizabethan era. Known as, Bess of Hardwick, Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, was one of the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I. The Hall was regarded to be a conspicuous statement of her wealth and power and was a primary example of an Elizabethan prodigy house that arrived in a Britain when it was no longer necessary, or legal, to fortify a domestic dwelling.

Designed by Robert Smythson in the late 16th century, the Hall was positioned with commanding views on a hilltop in the Derbyshire countryside and essentially consisted of six projecting towers that stood at the sides of the rectangular house.

One of its main features isthe numerous number of windows that are exceptionally large for a time when glass was considered a luxury. The Hall's chimneys form part of the internal structure of the walls in order to give a greater capacity for the huge windows without weakening the exterior walls. Smythson began its construction in 1590 and Elizabeth moved in on its completion in 1597, a residency that was to endure until her death in 1608.

The house's design was one of the first English houses where the great hall was built on its central axis rather than at right angles to the entrance. It holds an internationally important collection of 16th-century textiles, furniture, and portraits.

Bessy’s self-importance continues with a plethora of ES initials, that stand for Elizabeth of Shrewsbury, carved, stamped, sown and printed everywhere you look. As a visitor your certainly left in no doubt as to who was responsible for building this grand house. Each of its three main storeys has a higher ceiling than the one below, the ceiling height being indicative of the importance of the rooms' occupants. The house has one of the largest long galleries in England & there is also a tapestry-hung great chamber with a spectacular plaster frieze illustrating hunting scenes that has changed little since its conception.

Hardwick was just one of Bess's many houses. Each of her four marriages had brought her greater wealth. She was born in her father's manor house on the site of the later, now old Hall at Hardwick, which today is a ruin that lies just beyond the forecourt of the 'new' hall. After 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 so Hardwick was therefore relegated to the role of an occasional retreat for hunting or used as a dower house and as such escaped the attention of modernisers and received few alterations after its completion.

From the early 19th century, the antique atmosphere of Hardwick Hall was consciously preserved. And a low, 19th-century service wing is fairly low key, at its rear. In 1950, the unexpected death of the 10th Duke of Devonshire, with the subsequent 80% death duties caused the sale of many of the Devonshire assets and estates. At this time, Hardwick was occupied by Evelyn, Duchess of Devonshire, the widow of the 9th Duke. The decision was taken to hand the house over to HM Treasury in lieu of the Estate Duty in 1956. The Treasury transferred the house to the National Trust in 1959. However, the Duchess remained in occupation of the house until her death in 1960. Having done much, personally, to conserve the textiles in the house as well as reinstating the traditional rush matting, she was to be its last occupant.

The flight was not in a FRZ and the local council does not have a bylaw to prevent TOAL. It was pretty busy, but I was able to launch the DJI mini 3 Pro close from just outside the National Trust property boundary.

Parking is a breeze in the Harwick Park Area and is outside the Trust's boundary.

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location in more detail on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.16628, -1.30299 • what3words: ///types.dome.cage

The originator declared that this location was not inside a Flight Restriction Zone at the time of being flown on 03/06/2023. It remains the responsibility of any pilot to check for any changes before flying at the same location.

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