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Hardwick HallHardwick Hall, in Derbyshire, is one of the most significant Elizabethan country houses in England. It was designed for Bess of Hardwick, ancestress of the Dukes of Devonshire, by Robert Smythson in the late 16th century and remained in that family until is was handed over to the National Trust in the 1950s. As it was a secondary residence of the Dukes of Devonshire, whose main country house was nearby Chatsworth, it was little altered over the centuries and indeed from the early 19th century, its antique atmosphere was consciously preserved. Hardwick is a conspicuous statement of the wealth and power of Bess of Hardwick, who was the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I herself. It was one of the first English houses where the great hall was built on an axis through the centre of the house rather at right angles to the entrance. Each of the three main storeys is higher than the one below, and a grand winding, stone staircase leads up to a suite of state rooms on the second (U.S. third) floor, which includes one of the largest long galleries in any English house. There is a large amount of fine tapestry and furniture from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The windows are exceptionally large and numerous for the 16th century and were a powerful statement of wealth at a time when glass was a luxury: "Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall" the saying went. Hardwick's skyline features six rooftop pavillions and Bess of Harwick's initials "ES" carved into the balustrade. Hardwick is open to the public. It has a fine garden, and the grounds also contain "Hardwick Old Hall", a slightly earlier house which was used as guest and service accomodation after the new hall was built. The Old Hall is now a ruin. It is separately owned by English Heritage and is also open to the public. External links
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