for North Derbyshire, which constituency he has represented since the
year 1834. He married in 1835 the Lady Louisa, daughter of the Earl
of Harewood. Lord Richard Cavendish, another brother of the duke, is
unmarried.
His Grace is patron of thirty-nine livings, and in Derbyshire alone is
Lord of the Manor of forty-six places.
The arms of the duke are—_Sable_, three harts’ heads, caboshed,
_argent_, attired _or_. Crest, a serpent, noued, _proper_. Supporters,
two bucks, _proper_, each wreathed round the neck with a chaplet of
roses, alternately _argent_ and _azure_.
We now, for the present, leave the genealogical part of our story to
turn to the attractions of the interior of the Hall. Of the exterior
and interior of the old hall and their surroundings we shall speak
later on.
[Illustration: _The Grand Staircase._]
Passing through the entrance gateway, shown in one of our
illustrations, the visitor to Hardwick will see before him, across
the quadrangular space laid out in magnificent flower-beds in the
pure Elizabethan style—the most striking feature of which are two
immense beds, one on either side the central pathway, formed in the
shape of the letters E and S, the initials of Elizabeth, Countess of
Shrewsbury—in all its grandeur, the principal front of the Hall, which
bears out to the full the truth of the common saying—
“Hardwick Hall,
More glass than wall.”
The house is in reality “all windows,” and has a peculiarity of
appearance possessed by no other existing mansion. Passing under the
colonnade, seen in the centre of the building in our illustration on
page 122, the visitor arrives at the entrance door, and will, before
entering, do well to glance at an inscription, now nearly defaced, on
one of the pillars:—
“Hic locus est quem si verbis audacia detur
Haud meum magni dixisse palatia coeli,”
which may be thus freely rendered:—
“Could any adventurous muse these portals sing,
No more to Heaven’s gate her flight she’d wing.”
The GREAT HALL, which is first entered, is of considerable magnitude,
and very lofty, taking in the whole height of two stories of the noble
building. Its lower part is wainscoted; its upper, hung with fine
Gobelins tapestry. Along one side stands an enormous and massive oak
table, and carved chairs and seats in abundance are ranged around the
room. Over the entrance end a spacious gallery, supported on pillars,
leads from the dining-room to the drawing-room, on the first floor; and
at the opposite end is a charming piece of sculpture, a full-length
statue of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Westmacott, with the inscription—
“Maria Scotorum Regina
Nata 1542
A suis in exilium acta 1568
Ab hospita neci data 1587.”
On the wall over this is a large and very curious cartoon full-length
figure of Henry VIII. On the wainscot and in different parts of the
hall are some fine antlers, a series of helmets and breastplates, and
other relics; while over the fire-place, which is of great size and
beauty, and has its original brass fire-dogs, are the arms of the
foundress of the house, Elizabeth (Hardwick), Countess of Shrewsbury,
of gigantic size, in raised plaster-work. Some remarks here seem
requisite concerning the heraldry of the place. The arms represented in
the great hall, and shown in our engraving of that splendid apartment,
are _argent_, a saltire, engrailed, _azure_; on a chief of the second
three cinquefoils of the field. These, which are in a lozenge-shaped
shield, are surmounted by an earl’s coronet, and have for supporters,
two stags, _proper_, each gorged with a chaplet of roses, _argent_,
between two bars _azure_. The arms are those of Hardwick of Hardwick,
the maiden name of the Countess; the supporters, which she had no
right to assume, the family of Hardwick not being entitled to any,
were assumed from the crest of that family, which, with a slight
variation, formed those granted to her son, the first Baron Cavendish,
of Hardwick, and Earl of Devonshire. The coronet is, of course, hers as
Countess of Shrewsbury, the hall being built during the latter part of
the life of her _fourth_ husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and in the
first nine years of her fourth widowhood. From the Great Hall a wide
passage to the right leads to the grand staircase, the muniment-room,
the sitting and other rooms, on the ground-floor, and, to the left,
to the kitchens and offices, and to another staircase. Ascending
these massive stone stairs hung with framed pieces of needlework and
with curious old paintings, some of which are dated 1576, and were
principally brought from the old hall, an open oak screen-work on the
landing opens into
[Illustration: _The Chapel._]
THE CHAPEL. In this truly interesting little room, the walls are
notable for being partly hung with painted tapestry of extremely good
character, and the only examples in the house. On the ceiling is a fine
piece of tapestry, representing our Lord, with two of His disciples,
blessing the bread. The pulpit is dressed with some of the earliest
embroidery—portions of a cope, &c.; and on the rails hangs a very rich
and curious altar-cloth, 80 feet long, with figures of saints under
canopies, wrought in very rich and early needlework. The chapel is
shown in one of our illustrations. On the landing hangs a remarkably
curious lantern.
Opposite to the chapel, a doorway opens into the DINING-ROOM, a noble
apartment, the lower part of the walls being wainscoted, and the
upper hung with a number of family portraits, amongst which are an
interesting painting of “Bess of Hardwick,” with this inscription upon
it:—“Elizabeth Hardwick, daughter and co-heir of John Hardwick, of
Hardwick, in the county of Derby. To her second husband, Sir William
Cavendish, of Chatsworth, in the same county. She settled her third
son, Sir Charles Cavendish, at Welbeck, in the county of Nottingham.”
Other portraits are those of her husband, Sir William Cavendish, at
the age of forty-four; “the Beautiful Duchess,” Georgiana, Duchess of
Devonshire; the late Duke of Devonshire; Lord George Cavendish, second
son of the third duke, known as “Truth and Daylight,” &c., &c. Over the
fire-place is a fine specimen of parget-work, a kind of plaster-stone,
with figures, &c., and in the centre the inscription, “The conclusion
of all things is to feare God and keepe his Commaundementes,” and the
conjoined initials E.S. with the date 1597. The large recess of this
room is converted into a billiard-room.
The CUT-VELVET ROOM, leading from the dining-room, is a noble
apartment, hung with tapestry, and containing a stately bed with
plumes. Over the fire-place, in parget-work, as in other rooms, is
a series of armorial bearings, among which again occur the arms of
Hardwick, with supporters and coronet. Adjoining this is a charming
dressing-room, hung with the most exquisite needlework in silk. Passing
down the minstrels’ gallery from the dining-room to the drawing-room,
some fine specimens of needlework, by the Countess of Shrewsbury, and
by Mary, Queen of Scots, are carefully preserved in frames.
The DRAWING-ROOM is a large well-proportioned apartment, the lower part
of the walls wainscoted, and the upper hung with fine old tapestry,
representing the story of Esther and Ahasuerus. Over the fire-place
are the arms of Hardwick, with quarterings, in a lozenge shield,
supporters, and coronet. Among the paintings will be specially noticed
a fine portrait of Arabella Stuart, several portraits by Holbein, and
others of Henry VII. and VIII., Edward VI., &c., &c. There are, also,
some curious pieces of needlework, framed.
[Illustration: _The Presence Chamber._]
From the drawing-room the DUKE’S BED ROOM, and other apartments,
are reached. This room, so called because it is the room occupied
by the late Duke of Devonshire, and in which he died, is a splendid
apartment, hung with tapestry representing scriptural subjects.
Over the fire-place, which has large carved figures in stone on
either side, is a fine piece of parget-work surrounding a painting.
On the bed a curious needlework counterpane invites attention. The
dressing-room adjoining is one of the most interesting in the house.
It is hung with silk needlework tapestry of the finest and most choice
character, one piece of which bears the date of 1574. There are also
paintings of the entombment of our Saviour, and of the Annunciation,
with the arms, in tapestry, of the Cavendishes, Talbots, and others.
Near this room is the bed-room occupied, on his occasional visits to
Hardwick, by the present duke, on the tapestry of which cupids are
represented playing at mall—the progenitor, apparently, of our modern
croquet. Near this, too, is the Marquis of Hartington’s room, in
which are several interesting coats of arms in parget-work, including
the bearings of Hardwick, Cavendish, Talbot, and others. Returning
through the drawing-room, the visitor next passes out to the GRAND
STAIRCASE, of which we give an engraving. Near the drawing-room door
will be noticed a fine old chest, said to have belonged to the Earl
of Shrewsbury. The staircase is hung with some of the finest tapestry
which any house can boast. One portion represents a classical story;
the boar-hunts and similar subjects are fine, and powerful in the
extreme. On the second landing is an interesting inlaid table with the
arms of Hardwick impaling Talbot, and on the wall by it hangs some of
the oldest tapestry in the house. Continuing up the staircase, with
tapestry on either side, the state-rooms are approached. The entrance
is by a doorway surmounted by the Hardwick arms, over which is the most
gorgeously fine piece of tapestry, representing Juno. On the door a
marvellously beautiful lock is still preserved. It, with the arms of
Hardwick, forms one of our initial letters. This door opens into the
PRESENCE-CHAMBER, State-Room, or Audience-Room, as it is variously
called. This splendid apartment, which is 65 feet long, 33 feet wide,
and 26 feet in height, is one of the finest proportioned and most
imposing in appearance even in this perfect house. The upper portion
of the walls of this magnificent chamber is covered with parget-work
in high coloured-relief, representing hunting scenes, Orpheus, and the
court of Diana. Below this, for full 15 feet in height, the walls are
hung with tapestry of the finest character.
Over the fire-place of this room are the arms and supporters of Queen
Elizabeth, in coloured relief parget-work. The furniture is remarkably
fine, as will be seen from our engraving of this room. At the north
end is a majestic canopy, decorated in minute needlework with figures
of the cardinal virtues, “Verecundia,” “Prudentia,” “Sobrietas,”
&c., alternating with monograms and arms of the family. Under the
canopy is a state-chair; and in front, one of the most curious and
interesting tables in existence. It is of large size, and elaborately
inlaid over the entire surface of its top with musical instruments of
various kinds, backgammon and chess boards, cards, and various games,
foliage and other devices. In its centre is a tablet with the quaint
inscription:—
THE REDOLENT SMLE
OF ÆGLENTYNE
WE STAGGES EXAVLT
TO THE DEVEYNE.
The “stagges” being, no doubt, the stags of the Hardwick arms. On
each side of the tablet are the arms of Hardwick and Talbot impaled,
&c. From this room a doorway in the tapestry opens into the
picture-gallery, and another at the north end leads into the LIBRARY,
over the chimney-piece of which is a splendid piece of sculpture,
Apollo and the Muses; over the figures on one side are the arms of
Queen Elizabeth, and on the other her initials, E. R., in a knot, and
crowned. This fine group, found not many years ago in a case in one of
the servants’ rooms at Chatsworth, is supposed to have been presented
to the countess by Queen Elizabeth, and it has, therefore, been most
appropriately brought and placed in its present position. In this
room, among other interesting pictures, is a portrait of James V. of
Scotland, when very young. It belonged to Queen Mary, and was taken
with her from place to place. Passing through the library and the GREEN
BED-ROOM, where the majestic state-bed and the tapestry are sure to
excite attention, one of the most interesting little rooms in the whole
building is gained:—
[Illustration: _Mary Queen of Scots’ Room._]
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS’ ROOM—a room which, it appears to us, the Countess
of Shrewsbury prepared expressly for the reception of the furniture
used by the truly unfortunate captive who had for so many years been a
prisoner in charge of her and her husband, and in which, when finished,
she placed her bed and other furniture, so as to preserve them as
precious relics. On the panels of the wainscoting of the room are the
initials of the countess, E.S., with the coronet and the date 1599;
and on the door the same date twice occurs. The woodwork is “tricked”
in arabesque patterns; over the door, on the interior side, are carved
the royal arms of Scotland, with the order of St. Andrew, supporters,
crown, &c., and the letters M. S., and the motto, IN · MY · DE · FENS.
Around the whole is the inscription, MARIE · STEWART · PAR · LA · GRACE
· DE · DIEV · ROYNE · DE · SCOSSE · DOVARIERE · DE · FRANCE. Over the
fire-place, in parget-work, are the arms of Hardwick in lozenge, with
coronet and supporters; the arms of Hardwick impaling Leake; and those
of Cavendish, with a crescent for difference, impaling _argent_ a fesse
_gules_. The bed—the very one in which the poor queen lay during a
part of her captivity—is adorned with the work of her own hands,
bearing her monogram. The counterpane, too, is an elaborate piece of
needlework, said to be her own work; and some of the furniture is of
the same period. We have engraved this historically interesting room as
one of our illustrations.
Near this is the BLUE BED-ROOM, hung with tapestry, and containing a
noble bed, hung with blue, to which needlework by Christian Bruce,
Countess of Devonshire, has been transferred with much judgment and
care. Over the chimney-piece is the “Marriage of Tobias.” Other
bed-rooms adjoin, which it is not necessary to notice.
The PICTURE-GALLERY, the “great glory” of Hardwick, occupies the
entire length of the building from north to south, on the upper floor
of its eastern front. Its length is 170 feet, and its width 40 feet,
including the recessed windows; its height being 26 feet. The walls
of this superb gallery are hung with the finest tapestry, almost
hidden, however, by the magnificent assemblage of portraits with
which it is, as will be seen from our engraving, literally covered.
The tapestry here is, as has been said, remarkably fine, and is very
early, some of it bearing the date of 1478. It was brought from the old
mansion and from Chatsworth. The gallery is lit by eighteen enormous
windows, each 20 feet in height, on its eastern side, which is deeply
recessed. In the centre of this side is a gorgeous canopy over the
state seat, bearing the monogram of W.D., with a coronet; and on the
western side are two gigantic chimney-pieces, reaching from the floor
to the cornice, composed of Derbyshire black marble, alabaster, and
other marbles, one bearing in the centre of its upper height a finely
sculptured figure of Pity, and the other that of Justice. They are
said to be the work of “Stephens, a Flemish sculptor, or of Valerio
Vicentino.” The ceiling is of geometric design, in raised plaster-work;
it gives that finish to the room which is wanting in other of the
apartments. The upper portion of the walls, above the wainscoting and
arras, is worked in panels and festoons.
[Illustration: _The Picture-Gallery._]
The furniture is of the most costly and curious character, and in
perfect preservation. Much of it, indeed, belongs to the time, or to a
time not much later, when the house was constructed, and indicates the
artistic feeling and manual dexterity of the foundress. Here are beds
of state, with their curtains of black and silver; Venetian velvets and
damascenes; “cloth of Raynes to slepe on softe,” and hangings “raied
with gold;” hard cushions of blue baudekyn; high-seated chairs, covered
with samit and powdered with flowers, yet most uncomfortable for use;
screens of crimson velvet, covered with patterns worked in silver
wires; couches, every portion of which is thickly overlaid with threads
of silver and of gold; tables with legs twisted and turned about
in the most picturesque manner; fire-dogs of gorgeous description;
and a magnificent giant-glass, with the arms of Devonshire impaling
Ormonde—these are among the beauties which greet the eye at every
turn in its progress through Hardwick.
As we said at the commencement of this chapter, there is no place so
likely as Hardwick to carry the mind back to those times which we have
indicated and to which it belongs. One is unresistingly and forcibly
carried by the imagination back to the time of Elizabeth, and while
pacing along through these rooms, we are led, “in the mind’s eye,” to
people them with the forms of those who lived and moved and had their
being within its walls.
To the paintings in the picture-gallery and those scattered through the
several rooms, the dining-room more especially, we can but make slight
reference. They count some hundreds of the finest and most historically
interesting portraits of which any mansion can boast. To enumerate them
would occupy a dozen of our pages: we must, therefore, be content to
say that among them are original portraits of Queen Elizabeth; of Mary,
Queen of Scots; of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia; of Arabella Stuart; of
the foundress of the building, “Bess of Hardwick,” afterwards Countess
of Shrewsbury; of Kings Henry VII. and Henry VIII.; of Georgiana, the
“Beautiful Duchess” of Devonshire; of Robert Boyle, the philosopher; of
the seventh and unfortunate Earl of Derby; of Lord Treasurer Burleigh;
of Queen Mary; of Sir William St. Loe, third husband of “Bess of
Hardwick;” of George, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury; of Henry VII. and Henry
VIII., cartoons by Holbein; of James V. of Scotland, and his queen; of
Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury; of Mary, Countess of Shrewsbury; of Lady
Grace Talbot; of several distinguished members of the Clifford family;
of Queen Catherine of Arragon; of Christian, Countess of Devonshire;
of Lady Jane Seymour; of Elizabeth, Countess of Devonshire; of the
first Duke of Ormond; of Rachel, Duchess of Devonshire; of Edward
Russell, Duke of Bedford; of John, first Duke of Rutland; of Henry
Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel; of William, Lord Russell; of the Marchioness
of Hartington; of Queen Anne; of Frederick, Prince of Wales; of King
William III.; of King George III.; of King James I.; of Sir Robert
Walpole; of Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam; of the Princess of Orange; and
of most of the noted men of the time; of numerous celebrities of the
Cavendish family and their alliances; and of Thomas Hobbes—“Leviathan
Hobbes,” or “Hobbes of Malmesbury,” as he is called.
From the leads of Hardwick Hall, which are gained by a spacious
staircase, the upper rooms of the towers are reached, and a magnificent
view of the surrounding country is obtained.
[Illustration]
Having described HARDWICK HALL as it now exists, and given a brief
history of the noble family of Cavendish to whom it belongs, we
resume the subject, to speak of the older mansion, now in ruins; of
the Hardwicks to whom it belonged; of the marvellous daughter of that
house, “Bess of Hardwick,” and her alliances; and of AULT HUCKNALL, the
parish church, and its many monuments, among which is that to the great
philosopher, “Hobbes of Malmesbury,” who lived and died at Hardwick.
And, first, as to the family.
The family of Hardwick is one of considerable antiquity in the county
of Derby, although now extinct, and was for several generations settled
at Hardwick, from which place, indeed, it is probable the name was
assumed.
In 1203 the manor of Hardwick was granted by King John to Andrew de
Beauchamp, but in 1288 it was held of John le Savage—who owned the
neighbouring manor of Steynsby, and was probably of the same family
as the later Savages, of Castleton and other places—by William de
Steynsby, by the annual render of _three pounds of cinnamon and one
pound of pepper_. The grandson of William de Steynsby, John Steynsby,
died seized of the manor in 1330. It afterwards passed into the
hands of the Hardwicks, and was held by them until it passed to the
Cavendishes by the marriage of the heiress to Sir William Cavendish.
The first of the Hardwick family known was William, who married the
daughter of Goushill, of Barlborough (which family of Goushill, in
the time of Henry III., married the heiress of Hathersage, and whose
heiress, in the sixteenth century, married Wingfield), and by her had
two sons, Roger and William, the latter of whom was living in the
thirty-second year of Henry VI. Roger Hardwick, of Hardwick, married
the daughter of Robert Barley, of Barley, and had issue by her, John,
who succeeded him. John Hardwick, of Hardwick, married Elizabeth,
daughter of Henry Bakewell, of Bakewell, one of the co-heiresses of
which family married Linacre before the year 1400. By her he had
issue, a son, John Hardwick, who, marrying Elizabeth, daughter of —
Pinchbeck, of Pinchbeck, was, in turn, succeeded by his son, John
Hardwick, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Leake, of Hasland,
a younger branch of the Leakes, Earls of Scarsdale. By this lady
John Hardwick, who died January 24, 1527, had issue, one son and four
daughters, viz., John, Mary, Elizabeth, Alice, and Jane. John Hardwick,
the last male representative of the family, who was only three years
old at his father’s death, married Elizabeth, daughter of Philip
Draycott, of Paynsley, but died without issue, leaving his sisters his
co-heiresses. Of these, Mary married, first, Wingfield, and, second,
one of the Pollards, of Devonshire, who was Gentleman Usher to the
Queen; Alice married Francis Leech, of Chatsworth, and died without
issue; Jane married Godfrey Bosville of Gunthwaite; and Elizabeth
(“Bess of Hardwick”) married, first, Robert Barley, of Barley; second,
Sir William Cavendish; third, Sir William St. Loe; and fourth, Gilbert,
Earl of Shrewsbury. The Francis Leech just named, who married “Bess’s”
sister Alice, was the last of his family. He sold Chatsworth to Agard,
who resold it to the second husband of “Bess,” Sir William Cavendish,
by whom it was rebuilt in almost regal magnificence.