restored the house and gardens. It is Bess for the most part remained on
classic Tudor although parts are even good terms with her Queen and was
older. The banqueting hall (with minstrels' forever inviting her to Hardwick. She never
gallery), kitchens and parlour date from came for one reason or another but what
1370 and the St Nicholas Chapel was you see today are rooms designed to
completed in 1427. Most impressive is the welcome the Monarch.
panelled Long Gallery, light and airy and What is surprising is that the state rooms
facing south. It is 110ft by 17ft. The are on the second floor, which includes
gardens are terraced and include a 20th one of the largest long galleries in any
www.visitpeakdistrict.com
century fountain and pool. English house and a little-altered, tapestry-
The current resident custodians are Lord hung great chamber with a spectacular
and Lady Edward Manners whose brother plaster frieze of hunting scenes. The creates a real sense of anticipation, to
is the 11th Duke of Rutland and lives in windows are exceptionally large and whichthebuildingmorethan matchesup.
Belvoir Castle, also in the Peak District. numerous for the 16th century and were The main structure dates from the latter
With 50,000 visitors a year it is never that a powerful statement of wealth at a time part of the 16th century and has been
busy but offers a quiet and low key when glass was a luxury. There is a large modified over the years finishing up with
understanding of how the gentry lived 500 amount of fine tapestry and furniture from elements of both Palladian and Baroque
years ago. About three hours will easily the 16th and 17th centuries. styles, a sort of Italianate palace. In the
cover including a visit to the timbered early part of the 20th century the house
restaurant, high up in the old stable block LYME PARK IS GLORIOUS operated in the grand Edwardian style,
overlooking the fast flowing River Wye. Why choose Lyme Park to visit? Friends effectively only lived in by the Legh family
Our overnight, two day visit consisted of from Manchester rave about it. It actually for three months of the year. Inside there
visiting three stately homes, all very grand is in the Borough of Stockport, which does are incredible Mortlake tapestries, an
in their own way and each from a not have an appealing ring. It is half way important collection of clocks, beautifully
different period of British history. between Buxton and Manchester, is within furnished quarters, along with a colourful
Chatsworth, Haddon Hall, Hardwick and the Peak District National Park, covers family history. You saunter from impressive
then Lyme Park. Hardwick is named after 1,500 acres and is where the deer for the room to impressive room.
Bess of Hardwick, said to be the second Royal herd in Windsor Great Park come from. To the south of the house is a lake and
richest women in England during Elizabeth The massive estate was granted to Sir formal gardens plus an orangery. It is a
I’s reign, outliving four husbands, and the Thomas Danyers in 1346 as a thank you delightful amble. This is where Jane
potency of a line that is still with us, that of for saving the life of the Black Prince at Austen’s Darcy and Elizabeth meet at
the Dukes of Devonshire. Crecy and passed to the Leghs of Lyme ‘Pemberley.’
by marriage in 1388. It remained in the You can dine in a restaurant with a set
HARDWICK HALL possession of the Legh family until 1946 meal actually in the house. Venison from
Hardwick Hall is one of the most when it was given to the National Trust. theparkisalwayson the menu.A pleasant
significant Elizabethan country houses in The mile-long drive to Lyme Park House alternative is the café in what might be
England and the ancestral home of Bess termed the commercial area by another lake.
of that name. Situated very close to J29 A 15-minute stroll across parkland takes
of the M1, it was the furthest east of our HARDWICK HALL you to The Cage, an 18th century hunting
tour and since 1959 it has been owned tower, currently only open on the
by the National Trust. occasional weekend but about to be
The property was a secondary redeveloped. We are told that from the
residence and has altered little over the top you can see Liverpool Cathedral on a
years and indeed, from the early 19th good day.
century the antique atmosphere has
been consciously preserved.
Bess was born at Hardwick. Clearly,
besides husbands and the 12 children
she bore, overseeing building work must
have taken up much of her time. Old
Hardwick Hall, the ruins of which are
opposite and is included in the admission
fee was never completed.
Hardwick is a proper country house not
fortified in any way and is essentially pure
Elizabethan. It was one of the first English
manors where the great hall was built on
an axis through the centre of the house
For further information on the area please go to:
ratherthanat rightangles to the entrance. www.visitpeakdistrict.com
the north magazine 29
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