Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury, by Rowland Lockey, 1592 in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London
Born
c. 1527
Died
13 February 1608
Buried
All Saints Church, Derby
Noble family
Hardwick
Spouse(s)
Robert Barley Sir William Cavendish Sir William St Loe George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury
Issue
Frances Cavendish Temperance Cavendish Henry Cavendish William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire Charles Cavendish Elizabeth Stuart, Countess of Lennox Mary Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Lucrece Cavendish
Father
John Hardwick
Mother
Elizabeth Leeke
Arms of Elizabeth Hardwick, as displayed on the plaster over mantle in the great hall of Hardwick Hall:[1]Argent, a saltire engrailed azure on a chief of the second three cinquefoils of the first.[2] Lozenge-shaped shield as appropriate for a female armigerArms of Elizabeth Hardwick displayed on parapet above main entrance of Hardwick Hall. The supporters two stags are those of the Cavendish family
Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (née Hardwick; c. 1521 – 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series of well-made marriages, she rose to the highest levels of English nobility and became enormously wealthy. Bess was reportedly a shrewd businesswoman, increasing her assets with business interests including mines and glass-making workshops.
She was married four times. Her first husband was Robert Barley (or Barlow), who died aged about 14 or 15 on 24 December 1544.[3] Her second husband was the courtier Sir William Cavendish. Her third husband was Sir William St Loe. Her last husband was George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, sometime keeper to the captive Mary, Queen of Scots. An accomplished needlewoman, Bess joined her husband's captive charge at Chatsworth House for extended periods in 1569, 1570, and 1571, during which time they worked together on the Oxburgh Hangings.
In 1601, Bess ordered an inventory of the household furnishings, including textiles, at her three properties at Chatsworth, Hardwick, and Chelsea, which survives. In her will she bequeathed these items to her heirs to be preserved in perpetuity. The 400-year-old collection, now known as the Hardwick Hall textiles, is the largest collection of tapestry, embroidery, canvaswork, and other textiles to have been preserved by a single private family. Bess is also well known for her building projects, the most famous of which are Chatsworth, now the seat of the Dukes of Devonshire (whose family name is Cavendish as they descend from the children of her second marriage), and Hardwick Hall.
^The Hall, Hardwick Hall. pinterest.com
^Burke's General Armory, 1884
^Wilson, A. N. (24 April 2012). The Elizabethans. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. ISBN 9781466816190.
Countess of Shrewsbury (née Hardwick; c. 1521 – 13 February 1608), known as BessofHardwick, ofHardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan...
1597 for BessofHardwick, it was designed by the architect Robert Smythson, an exponent of the Renaissance style. Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest...
dispatch from BessofHardwick to Lord Burghley, dated 21 September 1592. Bess recounts Morley's service to Arbella over "the space of three years and...
Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk, England, made by Mary, Queen of Scots and BessofHardwick, during the period of Mary's captivity in England. The hangings were made...
the husband of Bess of Hardwick, who had persuaded him to sell his property in Suffolk and settle in her native county. Bess began to build the new house...
advantage of the dissolution of the Monasteries. He married (1547) as his third wife the famous BessofHardwick, with whom he had eight children. One of their...
husband ofBessofHardwick, his second wife. His official positions included Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, Chief Butler of England and Member of Parliament...
Katherine in the Tower of London, where Edward Seymour (Lord Hertford) was sent to join her on his return to England. BessofHardwick was also imprisoned...
Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, also known as BessofHardwick; and George Talbot, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. According to Gregory, "The Other Queen...
BessofHardwick. The building has been completely demolished. The manor at Sutton Scarsdale was earlier called "Caldecotes" and "Oldcotes". Bessof Hardwick...
Derbyshire, home ofBessofHardwickHardwick Hall, County Durham Hardwick Hall Country Park Hardwick, County Durham Hardwick, Lincolnshire Hardwick, Monmouthshire...
worked for BessofHardwick, used blue bice in 1596. Ian Bristow, a historian of paint, concluded that the pigment blue bice found in records of British...
starring role in Mistress ofHardwick, a 10-part BBC series broadcast in 1972, which followed the life ofBessofHardwick. Most of the episodes are now lost...
metals. BessofHardwick bought red silk, gold, and silver thread for making "bone lace" in 1549, the earliest English reference to this kind of work. Today...
concealment of priests. The hall is also notable for the Oxburgh Hangings, needlework hangings by Mary, Queen of Scots and BessofHardwick. Mary worked...
deliver the jewels to BessofHardwick, Arbella's other grandmother. If Arbella were to die the jewels were to be given to James VI of Scotland. Despite the...
Cavendish by his wife BessofHardwick, and thus elder brother of William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire. The family seat of Doveridge Hall was demolished...
monument with effigy ofBessofHardwick, ofHardwick Hall; and monumental brasses of her descendants the Cavendish family (later the Dukes of Devonshire), including...
mentioned in Sir William St Loe's accounts 1559–60 (Mary S. Lovell, BessofHardwick, Empire Builder 2005:144, note 3). Austin, Thomas Austin, Two fifteenth-century...
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