Heritage building, Historical landmark
Hardwick Old Hall
Bess of Hardwick's remodelled family home, built on the site of her birthplace, is now a roofless four-storey shell beside the grander New Hall, still holding some of the finest plasterwork of its age.
The story
Bess of Hardwick, one of the richest and most formidable women of Elizabethan England, remodelled this house before raising the even grander New Hall alongside it in the 1590s. The two stood in use together for some time, until the Old Hall fell derelict and the 4th Duke of Devonshire partially dismantled it as a romantic ruin to grace the estate. Today you can climb through four floors of the towering shell, where marks in the walls show where floors, stairs and doors once ran. Sections of 400-year-old decorative plaster survive, some recently conserved and protected from the elements, while information boards and an audio tour fill in the story. High vantage points look out over the surrounding countryside. The site is owned by English Heritage and run by the National Trust, sharing its grounds with Hardwick Hall.
Good to know
TAGGG AI- ✦Expect lots of steep, sometimes uneven steps with no handrail, though the climb rewards you with wide views from the top.
- ✦If you plan to see both halls, tour the Old Hall first before moving on to the New Hall.
- ✦Both English Heritage and National Trust members get in free, and one car park serves both sites.