Return to Hardwick Hall with Dennis and Sandra

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Today, we’re off to meet Dennis & Sandra at Hardwick Hall (south of Bolsover, east of Matlock). The eagle-eyed amongst you will spot that we four have done this before!

And you’re correct – back in August 2020. This time, however, we’re heading inside the Hall itself (last time we only explored the grounds due to Covid restrictions).

We set off just before 9.15am planning to meet up at 11am. It was a smooth and straightforward journey covering the near-90 mile journey, where again, we’d forgotten how busy the roads can get during a weekday. Still, it moved at pace but it was not a great surprise to see that some drivers still relied on telepathy alone to let others know their intentions when changing lanes! 🤔 (‘BMW for sale with indicator stalk in perfect un-used condition’ 😆). We arrived around 10.45 with Dennis and Sandra just a few minutes behind us – a perfect start to the day.

Considering the Hall didn’t open until 11am, we were amazed at how busy the car-park was. It’s a sizeable parking area, but I reckon it was 90% full already! 🤔. Surely Hardwick Hall isn’t THAT popular???

11.25am: After the obligatory elevenses, we approached the Hall, it suddenly all felt quite familiar (although this time, Covid-free, there were a lot more people!). The crowds seemed to be mostly families (the sprogs are on holiday for Easter at the moment) with the younger members sporting rabbit ears where it seemed there was some sort of ‘Egg Hunt’ going on. Maybe that explained why the car-park was so busy?

It was good to be out in the fresh air, but my optimism in wearing my sunglasses was somewhat misplaced as there was a nip in the air. But we don’t let the weather get in the way of our adventures, this being our 20th cultural day out together with our friends since we started them back in February, 2017.

So far…

Lincoln Castle and Prison (October 2025)
Nottingham Castle (June 2025)
Wollaton Hall (October 2024)
Nottingham City (May 2024)
Doddington Hall (December 2023)
International Bomber Command (September 2023)
Southwell (March 2023)
Chatsworth House (November 2022)
Belvoir Castle (August 2022)
Kedlestone Hall (May 2021)
Hardwick Hall (August 2020)
Castle Howard (December 2019)
The Royal Armouries Museum (March 2019)
Bolsover Castle (October 2018)
Belton House (May 2018)
York (February 2018)
Burghley House (October 2017)
Hull (May 2017)
Leeds (February 2017)

Inside Hardwick Hall

The property was built towards the end of the 1590s and is an Elizabethan-era country house. The owner, Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, but better known as simply ‘Bess of Hardwick’ became one of the richest woman in the England at the time (second only to Queen Elizabeth) – where some reports suggest she was actually richer than the Queen!

Yes, Bess managed to work her way through FOUR Husbands – Robert Barlow (married 1543, d. 1544), Sir William Cavendish (m. 1547, d. 1557), Sir William St Loe (m. 1559, d. 1565), and George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury (m. 1568, d. 1590) – Phew!! 🤑. History records that her wealth was mainly down to these careful marriages, where she rose to the highest levels of English nobility.

And it showed! If windows were a sign of wealth (they were!), then this proved that Bess was loaded! The House is a window cleaner’s nightmare (or salvation!) and oozes ‘money no object’. Having seen off FOUR husbands, the Hall represented a conspicuous sign of wealth of the time. But wait, there’s more! More in the shape of ANOTHER Hardwick Hall, helpfully named ‘Hardwick Old Hall’ next door (more about that later!).

In the safe hands of the National Trust, the building has been tastefully conserved/restored without going overboard. The tapestries are faded, and there are plenty of layers of dust in places. It felt like it had been frozen in time, and the dimly lit rooms gave a real sense of ‘how it was’.

Best let the photos do the talking…

Yes, there was plenty to see here! Plenty of Volunteers on duty too! 👌

All in all, then it was all very impressive, but as I mentioned earlier, we weren’t done yet – there was ‘old’ Hardwick Hall literally next door.

Hardwick Old Hall

A short walk away, the National Trust look after this one too, but unusually ‘on behalf’ of English Heritage. By comparison, the old Harwick Hall looked like the ‘poor relation’ to its much larger neighbour, looking somewhat unloved and forgotten. Thanks to Volunteer, Chris, we learned more…

Initially, we thought this building must have been the original Hall, but according to Chris, it was actually constructed around the same time. Hmm, why did it look like the poor relation? Apparently, the building just wasn’t impressive enough for the family and they ‘started again’, only bigger, better – and with more windows! 🙄. But what about the fact that it looked like a ruin? Was it simply neglect? Nothing so dramatic!! The answer was simply, practicalities – they needed the stonework for the other constructions. Who knew? Not me, for sure! 😯

Good old NT and English Heritage! They weren’t going to let the larger next-door neighbour steal all the limelight and serious money is being spent on further conservation here. Sadly we couldn’t get up close, as the perimeter was roped off whilst a survey was in progress assessing the safety of the remaining stonework. Holy flying mammals, apparently, bats are resident here too, so there’s even MORE to be concerned about!

A suitable end to our visit here today, where we saw (and learned) much more than we imagined. Time for Lunch!

Lunch

1.35pm: A short walk away was The Hardwick Inn. It was easily spotted as it looked like most of Derbyshire was already ahead of us, judging by the number of cars outside. Surely a good sign, given it was ‘only’ a murky Wednesday? It’s a well-known destination for the locals (as we spotted!), dating back to the 15th century and built of locally quarried sandstone, situated on the south gate of Hardwick Park,

Inside, it soon became obvious that most of Derbyshire was here! It was packed! The eatery sprawled in all directions, and it was clear that it had been extended many times

It all felt very welcoming inside. The staff were friendly, and the menu was extensive. Steak & Guinness Pie for me, all helped along with a pint of Old Peculiar (surely one of the best ales around?). Yes, it was all very enjoyable and the perfect end to our get-together. Almost two hours later, we said our goodbyes and headed for the M1.

5.15pm: After dropping into Dunelm (domestic crisis – the ironing board had self-destructed just before we left this morning! 😯) and the Post Office (goodbye Three’s 5G Router – one of my better tech decisions back in 2022), we were now home.