Historical Environment: Hardwick Hall Flashcards
Where was Bess raised?
In London by a family friend Lady Zouche
Who was bess’ first husband and when did they marry?
Robert Barlow was her first husband, who she married when she was just a teenager, and was quickly widowed
When did bess marry again and who did she marry?
the second marriage
1547 she married Sir William Cavendish who made bess his third wife on the 2nd of August
Where did Bess and her second husband get married, and why is this significant?
Bradgate, Leicester (home to the parents of Lady Jane Grey)
How did BeSS and her second husband live?
They lived luxuriously with six surviving children and many extravagant feasts, entertainment, gambling, and uniformed servants
Where did Cavendish have to go in 1557 and why?
Summoned to explain a 5000 pound accounting discrepancy to Mary 1st as Queen’s treasurer.
What happened to Bess after cavendish’s death?
They have been living in Chatsworth but with the amount of debt her husband had left, she was forced to sell her London house
What did bess do when Elizabeth was crowned and why?
She found herself a position as one of the Queens lady in waiting since she felt she could come nearer to the capital, now having a Protestant queen, the same religion as herself
Who was Bess of Hardwick’s third husband and when did they marry?
Sir William St loe in 1559, the same year she was made lady of the bedchamber
What happened in 1561 that jeopardised Bess’ place in the Royal Court?
Catherine grey, Lady Jane grey sister, came to Beth and admitted an affair with Edward Seymour and was with child
A treasonous act since they were both of royal blood and so needed the Queen’s permission before they could be married
What did bess do in light of Catherine’s confession and how did this impact her?
Best refused to help and Catherine told Robert Dudley who then told the Queen and threw Catherine, Edward Seymour, and Bess into the Tower of London
What did Bess’ third husband do before he died?
Cleared all of his wife’s debts despite rumours that she had poisoned him. 1564 is when he did this and later died in the same year
Who is bess’s fourth husband and when does she marry him?
George Talbort Earl of Shrewsbury in 1568
How was bess’ fourth marriage put under strain?
Mary Queen of Scots was to be under house arrest in their home at least put all the costs of imprisonment on the couple, Mary Queen of Scots played mind games with them and the marriage broke down
The Earl died in 1590
Who was bessie’s granddaughter?
Arbella Stuart
How did bess treat Arbella?
She kept at her a practical prisoner at Hardwick so that she couldn’t run off and marry, passing her claim to the throne onto an illegitimate child
As a result they fell out and Elizabeth took her into the royal household but her claim to the throne was never Acted upon
When did bess start building Hardwick hall?
1590 using the wealth and power she gained through the four marriages
Why was that location chosen for Hardwick?
It was the place where bess was born and it dominated all surroundings as it was on top of a hill, so the coat of arms and initials in the front of the building could be seen first
Why is it often said: ‘Hardwick hall more glass than wall’
Best used glass because it was very difficult to make and so was very expensive, so it showed her wealth
Why did Bess have so many colourful main halls and colourful tapestries?
To show off how well bye showing off how she could afford dyes and lavish decoration
Why does the ceiling get higher as you go up the stairs of the house?
To indicate the importance of the guests, the higher up you go the higher your status
What was a private Banqueting pavilion?
At the top of turret where bess had a private banqueting pavilion for lavish dining and secret gossip after dinner
Such as who was to be the next queen: could it be Arbella?
How did bess show her loyalty to her queen in Hardwick hall?
She had Elizabeth’s coat of arms in one of her guest rooms and a portrait of the queen in the long gallery
Whydid bess have her own coat of arms in each room?
To show her wealth and status
How did bess gain more wealth and power?
She games welcome power through smart investments in copper mines and mills and businesses on her land
How to best keep her house smelling nice?
By putting herbs on the floor matting
Why did bess have long galleris?
For entertaining guests displaying art and tapestries and taking winter exercise
A sign of wealth
What engravings are on the top the both sides of the front of the house?
ES was engraved in stone on both sides of the top of the house, Elizabeth Shrewsbury’s initials, no one could ignore who had built and whose house this was
A sign of wealth status and power
What was a loggia?
At the front of the house, a walkway with pillars was taken from the Italian architectural design, following the Renaissance fashion and the architect of the house is preference to European designs: Robert smythson, who had already built Longleat House and Wollaton Hall and was England’s first great architect
Staying in fashion was a sign of wealth as well
How did bess start out?
A farmer’s daughter
How is Hardwick hall a great example of a fashionable Elizabethan prodigy house?
It’s perfectly symmetrical and lavish
Elaborate geometric plasterwork reflected the Renaissance fashion
How was the engravings reflective of family connections?
References to Hawick and Cavendish family
What did the oak wall panelling show?
Told classical stories and kept heat in
Talk about the chimneys.
Two massive chimney pieces contain statues of Justice and Mercy
Straight chimney columns placed within the internal walls, to be symmetrical and reflect classical design
old castles tended to have just one great chimney
What happened after Charles Stuart and Bess’ daughter married?
They had Arbella and the queen was unhappy, since this child had a claim to the English throne, and so Bess had to leave the Queen’s royal court, designing Hardwick, in part, to gain back the Queen’s favour.
How was the roof of the house an issue?
It required an ‘m’ shaped roof, which required huge amounts of lead, due to the six turrets, but Bess had her own lead mines and lead foundries at Winster, Aldwark and Bonsall
Who did Smyhtson employ to work on the house?
Abraham Smith who designed beautiful and intricate plasterwork in the long gallery and special rooms
Thomas Accres
worked on Wollaton Hall and was a skilled marble carver who made a spectacular fireplace for the long gallery
How did the house reflect social order?
Made to reflect the Great Chain of Being, with the top floors lavishly decorated for nobles, the middle floor for Bess’ everyday use and the ground floor for the servants and the Great Hall
What was the Great Hall in Hardwick like?
The Great Hall was less important in the Tudor Era (hence it was on the ground floor) and was mainly used as a functional place to meet tenants and running the Estate. It was the whole depths of the house and in the centre, to allow more places for fireplaces and greater comfort.
Smythson rotated it 90 degrees in his designs so that two fireplaces could be fitted.
What was the staircase at Hardwick like?
Grand stone staircase spiralling through the house to the second floor, where Bess’ private rooms were, and the top floor, where a guest room for royalty lay, in hopes the Queen would visit on one of her Royal Progresses.
What was the furnitue and decoration like?
Got more lavish as you went up the house
100000 pounds worth of taperstries bought from Christopher Hatton decrorated the upper floor
Much of the plaster, tapersties and furniture included women from ancient mythology for example, hangings about ‘The Noble Women of the Ancient World’ was in Bess’ private apartment.
The Green Bedroom was the main guest bedroom, with green tapersties hanging from the walls.
Describe the High Great Chamber.
On the second floor, the Hihg Great Chamber was designed with the most expensive tapestries, depicting the story of Ulysses, French furniture, Turkish silk and Iranian carpets. There hang a beautiful, handpainted hunting scene to impress. It was clearly designed for a royal or noble visitor.
Describe the Long Gallery in depth.
Contianed 97 paintings
67 portraits, including one of Elizabeth
expensive Gideon tapestries
the whole width of the east side of the house on the second floor
tapestreis lower down the house?
family made tapestries
four factors of Hardwick Hall?
wealth
status
fashion
comfort
What was the garden like?
lots of seating areas with a rose garden, rather than defensive walls like they had in medeival homes
Give two other fashionable homes of the time.
Kenilworth Castle: Robert Dudley added a a new gatehouse with a marble fireplace and symmetrical design and an Itlaian influenced garden with marble statues and fountians
Both Hampton Court and Kenilwoth Castle had lots of glass to allow natural light in for sewing, reading and admiring the view
Kenilworth and Sheffield Manour Lodge kept their castle walls and older features, but Bess built Harwick from her wealth, and designed it to be comfortable, spacious and warm, unlike the cold and dark castles of the past.
Bess’ status
second wealthiest woman in England, below the Queen
