{"id":71746,"date":"2025-02-06T15:50:48","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T15:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/adventure\/hardwick-hall-city-adventurers\/"},"modified":"2025-02-06T15:50:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T15:50:48","slug":"hardwick-hall-city-adventurers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=71746","title":{"rendered":"Hardwick Hall \u2013 City Adventurers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The City Adventurers took a trip to Hardwick Hall. Turns out there are two Hardwick Halls \u2013 one managed the National Trust (stately home) and one managed by English Heritage (a ruin). Both Hardwick Hall and the Old Hall are Grade I listed. <\/p>\n
Getting there<\/h3>\n
If you head to Hardwick Hall via the M1 your satnav should deliver you to the entrance to the estate. We, however took the scenic route via Arnold, Papplewick and Newstead Abbey and were delivered to the exit, by the Hardwick Inn. <\/p>\n
Lots of activity there, as the place attracts dog walkers. Similarly, on our drive up the hill towards the house, there was another stop off with lots of walkers and dog walkers. <\/p>\n
Crossing the motorway twice we found the turning for Stainsby Mill and the National Trust entrance to Hardwick Hall estate.<\/p>\nVisiting Hardwick \u2013 photo by Juliamaud<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The first owner \u2013 Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury. <\/h3>\n
Bess of Hardwick was the richest woman in England after\u00a0Queen Elizabeth I. She was born in her father\u2019s manor house, now old Hall at Hardwick, which is now a ruin beside the \u2018new\u2019 hall.<\/p>\n
Bess was married four times and each of her marriages brought her greater wealth. Hardwick was only one of Bess\u2019s many houses and stands as a testament to her wealth and power. <\/p>\n
Hardwick Hall was designed by\u00a0Robert Smythson\u00a0in the late 16th century and is an architecturally significant\u00a0country house\u00a0from the\u00a0Elizabethan\u00a0era. Built between 1590 and 1597, Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English Elizabethan\u00a0prodigy house. <\/p>\n
Hardwick Old Hall<\/h3>\n
Hardwick Old Hall, an Elizabethan\u00a0manor house stands as a ruin, next to Hardwick Hall. It was used as guest and service accommodation after the new hall was built. The City Adventurers were able to see the Old Hardwick Hall from a distance as they left the estate.<\/p>\n
It is administered by\u00a0English Heritage, who have just spent seven months on a conservation project at Hardwick Old Hall to protect the Hall\u2019s 400-year-old plaster friezes. Once the finest of their age, and a display of Bess of Hardwick\u2019s status and wealth, the Old Hall\u2019s decorative plaster panels have long been exposed to the elements for two centuries.<\/p>\n\n
Hardwick Hall <\/h3>\n
Hardwick Hall contains a large collection of\u00a0embroideries and a lot of the needlework on display in the house incorporates Bess\u2019s monogram \u201cES\u201d. There is a large amount of \u00a0tapestry\u00a0and\u00a0furniture\u00a0from the 16th and 17th centuries. <\/p>\n\n
Notable furniture include the\u00a0Sea Dog Table\u00a0from around 1570\u2019s and the\u00a0Eglantine Table. <\/p>\n
The\u00a0Eglantine Table\u00a0has a large inlaid top of special interest to musical historians, with depictions of sheet music, a violin with frets, sets of recorders and wind instruments. The table is oak, with walnut and other woods used for the inlays.<\/p>\nThe Eglantine Table \u2013 photo by Juliamaud<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The\u00a0Sea Dog Table\u00a0is an elaborately carved table, mainly made of\u00a0inlaid\u00a0walnut, with \u201cgilding, fruitwood,\u00a0tulipwood, and marble\u201d. The \u2018sea dogs\u2019 of its name are four fantastical\u00a0chimera, that support the table top above the stretcher. They have dog\u2019s heads, human breasts, front legs with paws, but the lower body of fish. The base rests on tortoises or turtles. <\/p>\nThe Sea Dog Table \u2013 photo by Juliamaud<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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