Hardwick Hall
In Brief. Hardwick Hall is a grand, well preserved Elizabethan country house, run by the National Trust, with a walled garden and extensive grounds. The adjacent garden includes an orchard and some fine views over the fields, but the highlight is the house. Built for a grand dame of the Elizabethan period, the hall retains many of its original features, being largely spared from generations of home improvements. The site also includes the adjacent Hardwick Old Hall , which is run by English Heritage, but they certainly drew the short straw as only the shell of the Old Hall survives. What's Here. Hardwick Hall was built to suit the needs and reflect the status of Bess of Hardwick (1521-1608), who was born on the site, outlived a succession of husbands, and accumulated significant wealth in the process. Her initials (ES - Elizabeth Shrewsbury) adorn the towers. The house spent a considerable time in the possession of descendants who also owned the even more imposing Chatswor...