Castle Map

Palace

Hardwick Hall

England · 16th century

Founded
1590
Style
Elizabethan architecture
Architect
Robert Smythson, Bess of Hardwick
Heritage status
Grade I listed building · Grade I listed park and garden
Location
Ault Hucknall
Coordinates
53.16878°, -1.30874°
Links
OpenStreetMap · Wikimedia Commons
Open on the map →Official website ↗Wikipedia ↗
Hardwick Hall in England
Photo: Chachu207 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

Hardwick Hall is an architecturally significant Elizabethan-era country house in Derbyshire, England. A leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, the Renaissance style home was built between 1590 and 1597 for Bess of Hardwick to a design of the architect Robert Smythson. Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English interpretation of this style, which came into fashion having slowly spread from Florence. Its arrival in Britain coincided with the period when it was no longer necessary or legal to fortify a domestic dwelling.

The British Army's 1st Parachute Brigade was formed at Hardwick Hall in 1941. The Airborne Forces Depot and Battle School was located on the grounds of the estate from 1942 to 1946.

After centuries in the Cavendish family and the line of the Earl of Devonshire and the Duke of Devonshire, ownership of the house was transferred to the Treasury in 1956 and then to the National Trust in 1959. The building was approaching ruin and required stabilisation and restoration.

The Hall is open to the public and received 298,283 visitors in 2019.

Hardwick Hall is surrounded by the 2,500 acre Hardwick Estate which contains meadows, woodland and ponds. The eastern side of Hardwick Estate extends into Nottinghamshire.

Text adapted from “Hardwick Hall” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Hardwick Hall ranks #780 of 9,902 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #67 of the 397 mapped in England. Founded 1590, it is older than 33% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 933 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 16,459 times in the last 60 days, more than 97% of the atlas. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Sheffield, 26 km away. See how England compares in the castle statistics.

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