Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury by Rowland Lockley, 1592.

Elizabeth Hardwick, or Hardwicke, Countess of Shrewsbury, known as Bess of Hardwick, (1527–1608) was the 3rd surviving daughter of John Hardwick of Hardwicke in Derbyshire. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (998x1201, 194 KB) Summary Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury by Rowland Lockley, 1592. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (998x1201, 194 KB) Summary Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury by Rowland Lockley, 1592. ... Events January 5 - Felix Manz, co-founder of the Swiss Anabaptists, was drowned in the Limmat River in Zürich by the Zürich Reformed state church. ... Events March 18 - Sissinios formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia May 14 - Protestant Union founded in Auhausen. ... John Hardwick is a prisoner on death row in Florida. ... Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire is one of the most significant Elizabethan country houses in England. ... Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, and boasts some of Englands most attractive scenery. ...

At the age of fifteen she contracted the first of four marriages, to 13-year-old Robert Barlow, heir to a neighbouring estate. However they were too young, and he too sick, to consummate their marriage before he died. As Robert's widow she was entitled to one-third of the revenues of the Barlow estate.

She remained single until August 20, 1547, when she married the twice-widowed Sir William Cavendish (who had two daughters and was more than twice her age). Probably acting on her advice, Sir William sold his lands in the south of England and purchased the Chatsworth estates in Derbyshire. Eight children were born of the marriage, two of whom died in infancy. Of the six who survived were three sons and three daughters. One of the sons was the forbear of the Dukes of Devonshire, and another of the Dukes of Newcastle. August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events January 16 - Grand Duke Ivan IV of Muscovy becomes the first Tsar of Russia. ... Sir William Cavendish (1505 - 25 October 1557) was an English courtier who became one of Thomas Cromwells visitors of the monasteries when King Henry VIII annexed the property of the Catholic Church at the end of the 1530s, and Cavendish became quite wealthy from his share of those properties. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi   - Water (%) Population... Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, and boasts some of Englands most attractive scenery. ... The Dukes of Devonshire are members of the aristocratic Cavendish family in the United Kingdom. ... Duke of Newcastle is a title which has been created several times in the peerages of England and Great Britain. ...

Sir William Cavendish having died on October 25, 1557, she married in 1559 her third husband, Sir William St. Loe (or Sentloe or St. Lowe), captain of the guard to Queen Elizabeth, Chief Butler of England, and owner of large West country estates at Tormarton in Gloucestershire and Chew Magna in Somerset, living at Sutton Court in Stowey. When Sir William died without issue in 1564/5, in suspicious circumstances (probably poisoned by his younger brother), he left everything to Bess, to the detriment of his daughters and brother. In addition to her own six children, Bess was now responsible for the two daughters of Sir William Cavendish from his first marriage, but Sir William St Loe's two daughters were grown up and already well provided for. Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England, Queen of France (in name only), and Queen of England from 17 November 1558 until her death. ... Gloucestershire (pronounced ; GLOSS-ter-sher) is a county in South West England. ... Chew Magna is a village in North East Somerset, south of Bristol. ... Sutton Court, Stowey Sutton Court, Stowey also known as Stowey Court, is a large house built on the site of a 14th Century castle, with sections built in the 15th and 16th Century. ... Stowey (Grid reference ST597598) is a small village within the Chew Valley in Somerset. ...

Sir William St Loe's death left Bess, Lady St Loe, one of the most eligible women in England. Not only was she a Lady of the Bedchamber with daily access and the favour of the Queen, but her income was calculated to amount to £60,000, which had the buying power of millions today. She still retained her looks and good health, and a number of important men began courting her.

With the approval of Queen Elizabeth, who was not by habit a matchmaker, Bess was married in 1568 for the fourth time to George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, one of the premier aristocrats of the realm, with seven children from his first marriage; two of his children married two of hers in a double ceremony in February 1568. Bess's daughter, Mary Cavendish (aged 12), married Gilbert Talbot (aged 16), Shrewsbury's eldest son, and Bess's son, Henry Cavendish (aged 18), married Shrewsbury's daughter, Grace Talbot (aged 8). Events March 23 - Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. ... George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Events March 23 - Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. ... Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford KG (November 20, 1552 – May 8, 1616), was the son of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, by the latters first marriage to Gertrude Manners. ...

The famous pearls worn by Bess in her portraits were bought by Bess, one pearl at a time, as her early account books show. An assertion that these were 'the Talbot pearls' is incorrect and seems to have originated speciously in a novel.

In 1574 Bess, the Countess of Shrewsbury took advantage of a visit of the Countess of Lennox to marry her daughter Elizabeth to Charles Stuart, the younger son of the Lennoxes and brother of Lord Darnley, the second husband of Mary Queen of Scots. The marriage ceremony took place without the knowledge of Shrewsbury, who — though he was well aware of the suggested match some time prior to this event - declined to accept any responsibility. As the Lennox family had a claim to the throne, the marriage was considered potentially treasonable as no Royal Assent had been obtained. The Countess of Lennox, mother of the bridegroom, went to the Tower for several months, and Bess was ordered to London to face an official inquiry, but she ignored the summons, and remained in Sheffield until the row died down. The child of the marriage was Arabella Stuart, who had a claim to the thrones of Scotland and England. Her grandmother worshipped her but willful and spoilt Arabella would prove to be the source of great pain and distress to Bess in her last years. Events April 14 - Battle of Mookerheyde. ... Elizabeth Stuart, Countess of Lennox, née Elizabeth Cavendish (died 1581), was the mother of Arbella Stuart. ... Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox (1555–1576), was the second son of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and of Margaret Douglas, granddaughter of Margaret Tudor. ... Henry Stewart (or Stuart, which was the style adopted by his father, and thence perpetuated as the House of Stuart), 1st Duke of Albany (7 December 1545 – 9 or 10 February 1567), commonly known as Lord Darnley, King Consort of Scotland, was the first-cousin and second husband of Mary... Mary I of Scotland, and Queen Consort of France; better known as Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots redirects here. ... Margaret Douglas Countess of Lennox click for larger version Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (October 8, 1515 - March 7, 1578) was the daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and Margaret Tudor, (daughter of Henry VII of England and widow of James IV of Scotland) Margaret was born at... Arbella Stuart (or Arabella and/or Stewart) (1575 - 1615), Duchess of Somerset, was the only child of Elizabeth Cavendish (daughter of Bess of Hardwick) and Charles Stuart (younger brother of Henry Stuart, who was the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I 843  Area    - Total 78...

For many years (1569–1584), the Earl and Countess of Shrewsbury acted as 'guardians' to Mary I of Scotland when the Scottish Queen was imprisoned on one or another of their estates, but it was not until Mary was removed to another jailer, Sir Amias Paulet, that she got into the trouble that cost her life. Around the same time Mary was removed from his custody, the Earl and Bess separated for good — they had been apart off-and-on since about 1580, and even Queen Elizabeth had tried to get them to reconcile. Mary seems to have aggravated, if not created, their problems by playing them off against each other. The Countess believed he had been in a relationship with Mary, a charge which has never been proved or disproved, but seems unlikely given the Earl's disposition and increasingly poor health. Events January 11 - First recorded lottery in England. ... 1584 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Mary I of Scotland, and Queen Consort of France; better known as Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots redirects here. ... Sir Amias Paulet (1532-1588) was the son of Hugh Paulet and Philippa Pollard. ...

A BBC documentary [1] claimed that Bess very much desired Arabella to become Queen, but it is fact that Bess was forced by order of the Queen to keep the girl away from Court and closely supervised in rural Derbyshire. Arabella blamed her grandmother for this, and the two fell out irrevocably when Arabella attempted to run away and marry a man who also had claim to the throne. Bess cut Arabella from her will and begged the Queen to take her granddaughter off her hands. Arabella's royal claim was never recognised but Bess eventually ended up with a descendant on the throne: Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor) (born 21 April 1926) is the Queen of 16 independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth Realms. ...

Bess became famous for her building projects, especially two of them: Chatsworth, now the seat of the Dukes of Devonshire (whose family name is still "Cavendish," because they are descended from her children from her second marriage), and Hardwick Hall, of which it has been said for more than 400 years now: "Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall," because of the number and size of its windows. She was interred in a vault in Derby Cathedral, where there is a memorial to her. All three sites are popular with visitors, as is Old Hardwick Hall, Bess's birthplace. A view of Chatsworth from the south-west circa 1880. ... The Dukes of Devonshire are members of the aristocratic Cavendish family in the United Kingdom. ... Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire is one of the most significant Elizabethan country houses in England. ... Derby Cathedral is a cathedral church in Derby City, England. ...

Bibliography

• Durant, David N. (1977). Bess of Hardwick: Portrait of an Elizabethan Dynast. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-77305-4.
• Durant, David N. (1977). Bess of Hardwick: Portrait of an Elizabethan Dynast, American Edition, New York: Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-10835-4.
• Eisenberg, Elizabeth (1985). This Costly Countess: Bess of Hardwick. Derby: Hall. ISBN 0-946404-95-X.
• Hubbard, Kate (2001). Material Girl: Bess of Hardwick: 1527-1608. London: Short Books. ISBN 0-571-20800-2.
• Kettle, Pamela (2000). Oldcotes: The Last Mansion Built by Bess of Hardwick. Cardiff: Merton Priory Press. ISBN 1-898937-39-7.
• Levey, Santina; Peter Thornton (2001). Of Houshold Stuff: The 1601 Inventory of Bess of Hardwick. London: National Trust. ISBN 0-7078-0329-2.
• Lovell, Mary S. (2006). Bess of Hardwick: First Lady of Chatsworth: 1527-1608. New York: Norton. ISBN 0-393-06421-X.
• Lovell, Mary S. (2005). Bess of Hardwick: First Lady of Chatsworth: 1527-1608, British Edition, London: Little-Brown. ISBN 0-316-72482-3.
• Pearson, John (1984). The Serpent and the Stag. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. ISBN 0-03-053431-4.
• Plowden, Alison (1972). Mistress of Hardwick. London: BBC. ISBN 0-563-10664-6.
• Westcott, Jan (1974). The Tower and the Dream. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-11128-X. [Biographical fiction]
• Williams, Ethel (1977). Bess of Hardwick. Bath: Chivers. ISBN 0-85997-238-0.

External links

• Find-A-Grave profile for Bess of Hardwick