This is a story about two families, four mansions and one very
impressive lady.
The first mention
of Chatsworth House was in the Doomsday Book; “Chetel’s-worth” owned by Sir
William Peverel. Centuries later
it passed on to Sir William Cavendish and his wife, Bess of Hardwick, who built
a new house on the site in 1558.
Bess didn’t come from nobility, just the opposite. She was a handmaiden or such to Queen
Elizabeth I and she remained one of the Queen’s best friends. She married well – several times if the
truth be known – and amassed quite a tidy sum as they died. When William died, their son, also
named William, inherited Chatsworth House and Bess returned to Hardwick Hall,
her ancestral home, and proceeded to turn it into a showplace.
Hardwick may have been the most elegant place around at the time
but it wasn’t enough for “Bess the Builder.” Rather than remodel again she constructed the “New Hall,”
only 100 meters away. To her
credit she didn’t tear down the “Old Hall.” The roof is gone but its bones are still good and much of
the plasterwork is still visible. Bess
died in her 80s on a frosty morning before the New Hall was completed. We didn’t visit the new hall. In the quirky way of the UK, English
Heritage maintains the Old Hall is while the lavishly furnished “New Hall” is
handled by British Trust. All they
share is a car park.
Belsover Castle was built by the Peverel family (remember them?) in
the 12th century and became Crown property in 1155 when the third William Peverel fled into exile. Belsover was eventually purchased by
Sir Charles Cavendish, son of Bess of Hardwick in 1608. Sir Charles set about re-building the castle, a process which
was continued by his son William Cavendish, later 1st Duke of
Newcastle upon Tyne. Despite
its embattled appearance, it was designed for elegant living rather than for
defense. The tower, known today as the 'Little Castle', was completed around
1621. During the Civil War Bolsover
Castle was taken by the Parliamentarians who slighted
it and it again fell into a ruinous state. However William Cavendish added a
new hall and staterooms to the Terrace Range and, by the time of his death in
1676, the castle had been restored to good order.
