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Bess of Hardwick – Bold, Beautiful & Brilliant
Bess of Hardwick leafletBess of Hardwick was a woman with guts and determination who would never stop
in her quest to make her family the wealthiest in the land.At just 14 years old, Elizabeth Hardwick embarked on the first of her four marriages
– to a 12 year old who died soon after! Thus began the first of her many inheritances
which were to ensure her personal legacy of wonderful houses and landscapes.
An ancestor of our own Queen Elizabeth, Bess was a clever and brilliant woman
of ambition who built a fortune in excess of £60,000 during her lifetime – which in
the mid 1500s was worth millions in today's terms!
Discover Bess's story and the secrets of her rise to power at our partner website,
www.bessofhardwick.co.uk – visit the places she lived in, created and built, many of which were designed
by the talented Smythson family architects. Bess was buried in Derby Cathedral
and there will be much to celebrate throughout 2008, the 400th anniversary of
her death.
visit www.bessofhardwick.co.uk
Further Information
To find out more about Bess of Hardwick short breaks, visit www.bessofhardwick.co.uk or telephone 0845 833 0970 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm).
(Please note that this number is for our Short Break queries only - for general
queries about the Peak District & Derbyshire and tourist information other
than the Short Break enquiries, please contact us by using the feedback form on
the Contact Us page.)