I live in Vienna, Austria, and I enjoy travelling (especially to England and Scotland). --> See ...
I live in Vienna, Austria, and I enjoy travelling (especially to England and Scotland). --> See my detailed profile for more <--
Member since:16.02.2001
Reviews:39
Members who trust:71
If you like historic houses and gardens, then this is something for you. You will find there two historic houses (The Old Hall, The New Hall), pretty gardens, a large park with ponds, and Stainsby Mill, a water-powered flour mill.
By bus, you can take Cosy Coaches C1 from Chesterfield train and bus stations (Sunday, June to August only), or Stagecoach East Midland
737, 747 Sheffield / Chesterfield - Nottingham.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Bess of Hardwick, the indomitable Elizabethan who was married four times and multipled her wealth with each marriage, was born here. After she had built Chatsworth (a great Renaissance palace) she decided to abandon her third husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury (after accusing him of having an affair with his prisoner, Mary Queen of Scots), and she returned to Hardwick.
At the age of 70, she decided to build a new Hardwick Hall, designed by Robert Smythson, „a palace more glass than wall“. Her descendants did not like Hardwick, they preferred to live at Chatsworth, and as a result, the Old Hall fell into ruins and the New Hall was never used, frozen in time, which means that we can now see here one of the purest examples of 16th century design and decor in the country.
OLD HALL
The ruins of Hardwick Old Hall are now cared for by English Heritage. An audio guide is available to visitors.
HARDWICK HALL (New Hall)
Certainly the highlight of your visit will be The New Hall, this magnificent Elizabethan House, which looks like a huge glass lantern from the outside.
The interior is very famous for its outstanding late Elizabethan (16th century) furniture, fireplaces, friezes, tapestries and needlework on the walls. Three embroideries (in the Drawing Room) are by Bess herself, and one (in the Paved Room) is by Mary Queen of Scots.
I visited Hardwick Hall last year and really enjoyed seeing this place. According to the National Trust, who cares for the New Hall, some building work is going on during 2001, but I think it is still worth a visit.
There is a small restaurant and souvenir shop in the Great Kitchen (where Bess’s meals were prepared).
GARDENS
Walled courtyards enclose fine gardens, orchards and a herb garden. Take your time to enjoy these wonderful places. In the South Gazebo, there is an exhibition about gardening history.
Picnics, bicycles, ball games and dogs are not allowed in the gardens (except guide dogs).
PARK AND PONDS
You can spend the rest of the day in the large parks surrounding the ponds where you may see some rare breeds of cattle and sheep.
STAINSBY MILL
Directly at the entrance to the park you will find Stainsby Mill. Please make sure you stop there to visit the mill, especially if you come here with your children. They will love this old water-powered flour mill, which - after reconstruction of 1850 machinery - is in good working order.
More than 600 years there has been a water-mill here where the Stainsby Brook joins the River Doe Lea. In 1953, Bess of Hardwick bought the mill from the previous owners, the Savage family, Lords of the Manor of Stainsby.
In 1850, the mill was no longer working, so it had to be rebuilt and new equipement installed. The mill was finally closed in 1952, then passed to the National Trust in 1976 and opend to the public in 1992 after substantial restoration.
Children (and adults) will enjoy to explore all the details of the water-mill on the ground floor and in the first floor, to find out how it did work, and to see some of the working demonstrations given by the friendly staff.
There is also a quiz for children asking them to look for certain things and to mark what they have found.
ADMISSION TIMES AND COST
Hardwick Hall: 31 March to 28 Oct, daily 12:30 - 5, except Mon, Tue, Fri. Old Hall: 31 March to 28 Oct, daily 11 - 6, except Mon, Tue. Gardens: 31 March to 28 Oct, daily 12 - 5:30. Park: Daily. Stainsby Mill: 1 June to 30 Sept daily 11 - 4.30, except Mon, Tue. April, May, Oct: daily 11 - 4.30, except Mon, Tue, Fri.
Prices of joint tickets for Hardwick Hall; Old Hall and Gardens: Adult GBP 8.30, child GBP 4.15, members of the National Trust are free, EH members pay GBP 6.20 for Hardwick Hall.
Stainsby Mill: Adult GBP 2.-, child GBP 1.-, family GBP 5.-, NT members free.
SUMMARY
Hardwick Hall, gardens, park and Stainsby Mill are well suited for a great family day out. We did enjoy it and would certainly like to come back.
Many thanks for reading.
Take care, Michael
[New category proposal, submitted on Fri 13 July 21:18 hrs.]
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Good op! I have just been to Hardwick so thought I'd see if I could review it. I only rated this helpful as it was first published in 2001 and therefore the prices/times etc may be out of date and there is very little mention of the Old Hall. If you decide to add to this, let me know in my guest book and I will reread it and poss re-rate.
mikeydred 14.08.2001 06:24
Excelent op (as always) and a good idea to include the date of submission so we can see how Ciao are doing on this front. I have four in the pipeline at the moment. Mike
eca99ajm 18.07.2001 23:41
I always used to get taken to Hardwich Hall as a kid by my Grandpa because I live near by. I always love the place! Thanks for bringing back memories... Anna
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Jul 16th, 2001
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