February 2024 - A Northern Getaway Part One - A Tudor Masterpiece

 Before I'd started at 111, we had planned a weekend away up North as a post christmas treat. I booked the time off, and managed to create a 4 day weekend. There's no point trying to drive up north just for two days, it's a very long drive from Southampton! 

We had planned to break up the journey into smaller, more manageable pieces. The backache I'd been experiencing intermittently the last couple of months had becoming more frequent, and I found I was becoming more and more stiff when I wasn't moving about. So we got up early, and about halfway we got out at a services so I could stretch and move about for a bit. We then headed into Birmingham to see James's parents. They were both well and keeping busy with things, and we spent the afternoon with them. My attempts to get their cat Pebbles to like me were all in vain, as she refused to come near me, but she did allow James to stroke her twice before also dashing off. That's better than nothing right?

We stayed just outside of Birmingham, and headed up to Hardwick Hall. I will confess, I'd never heard of the place, and I should really put up a warning on the blog for not knowing about such things.  James had seen it in something, and as such wanted to visit. Hilariously, we arrived to find I left my National Trust membership card at home, so had to get speak to the team on arrival to get a temporary one so I could be allowed in!

The thing that surprised me the most was the amount of glass at Hardwick Hall. When I think of Tudor mansions, I generally think of a brick & timber mix with small windows. But these windows were huge, and it must have cost a mind bending amount of money when it was first built to pay for all the glass. Glass was handmade, expensive and a luxury. What also impressed me from the first view was the level of symmetry. It was perfectly balanced.

Walking towards the house, we could see the snowdrops starting to come up, a sure sign that spring was on it's way again!

We followed the path round and came to the front of the house, you can really appreciate the symmetry here, as well as the interesting approach of the bigger windows on the second floor. Construction of Hardwick Hall began in 1590 for Bess of Hardwick, who was the second richest women in England at the time, with only Queen Elizabeth was wealthier. The home was a show stopper, and designed to show all the level of wealth and influence Bess had. She had a very interesting life, she was married four times, spent time with Mary Queen of Scots, as well as switching religions multiple times during the religious turmoil of the Tudor period. She was also a shrewd business woman, and clearly knew how to work the English political & court system to keep her influence & increase her standing. 

Bess came into contact with Mary, Queen of Scots, who was under house arrest and spent time living together. They made a lot of textiles & needlework together, and Bess's collection is one of the largest in England, and features many of Mary's works. It's possible they may have become friends at one point, but Mary caused issues between Bess and her then Husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and was moved to another house, before being executed in 1587.

 

An almost perfect shot of the hall from the gatehouse, I just needed to shimmy slightly over to make it fully line up! Underneath the portico there is a statue of Bess looking out over the gardens, even in stone, she is a formidable woman! She strikes me as someone who knew exactly what she needed to do, and how to do it. We need more women like this in charge!

The gardens are more parkland & hunting ground than anything too structured at the back, although there is some smaller planted areas around the house itself. Here's James having a look at the pond between the topiary trees. What a fantastic shape, I'd love one of those in the garden!

The Tudor fabric of the building remains, and has been loving restored by the National Trust after receiving the Hall in the 1950's. Like many great houses, the first & second world wars along with the interwar period hadn't been the best for the hall, growing society changes and neglect had taken it's toll, not to mention the fact that soldiers & a parachute regiment had been based here for training. There's also lots of rooms to look in, like this Victorian room full of drawers, presumably to store records and papers in.

But the Tudor aspect of the house is still the predominant one, and the great hall, which is based on the upper floor, is decorated with these fantastic tapestries across it's walls. We'd arrived in the great hall the same time as a guided tour, so it was a little crowded, but you can see the details of the marble fireplace, as well as the various scenes in the tapestries. The only thing I will say, was there was a lack of a grand entrance into the great hall. Most places have the great hall on the ground floor, but occasionally it's above, but it has a grand staircase that leads you straight into it. Not here at Hardwick Hall, here there is a large staircase at the back, which almost folds over itself and back around, and deposits you into a little entrance hall on the first floor, which then leads you into the grand hall. It took me a minute to work out where we had ended up, and for a house with this level of design and grandeur, it didn't seem to quite work.

But anyway, it's all a self guided tour, and you get to wander through the house to your heart's content. The Tudor design continues throughout, and every room is sumptuously decorated, again with tapestries on the walls, and braided rush mats on the floors. It was a shame it was an overcast day, because I imagine the rooms are brightly lit by the sun when it's shining, a real contrast to the dark rooms you would normally see in Tudor homes.

The master bedroom, with it's glorious four poster bed. I would love one, but apparently we don't have space for it! Maybe I need to live in a large house like Hardwick Hall, maybe that would be enough space for me & my things! And make sure to look at the Long Gallery, filled with family portraits and art, but also with splendid views across the estate.

You come down the service stairs, and finish the tour of the house in the kitchens, where you can see the hundreds of copper pots & saucepans that would be needed to cook & serve food for the Hall's occupants. I would have hated the amount of washing up though! I'd have to invent the dishwasher to deal with it all. Can copper pans go in the dishwasher? Perhaps I'd hire a pot washer. Surely if I owned a house that big, then I should be able to afford to hire a pot washer. Failing that, I could always invite Mum around and bribe her with something chocolaty to wash up for me!

We then had a nice little wander around the gardens, were we saw these lovely yellow branches, I can never remember what this plant is called, it's always featured in winter gardens for its colour, and also appears with red & orange colours. Everytime I see it I think how lovely it is, I research it and mean to buy one for the garden but somehow always forget to.

Just across the way from Hardwick Hall is the ruins of Old Hardwick Hall, which are unfortunately closed during the winter. But you're in for a treat if you do get to visit, apparently there's multiple examples of fine plaster work & stone detailing for you to see. So perhaps we shall return in the summer months and see for ourselves. If you've been and have got any pictures of the Old Hall in the summer, feel free to share a couple in the comments! There's also this rather beautiful structure, I think it was a memorial, with it's very open & calm design.

A view back of Old Hardwick Hall as we headed to the tearoom for a quick cuppa. 

Tickets for the Hall are £25.30 for an adult, which gives you access to Hardwick Hall, the surrounding parkland, the Old Hall in the summer months, as well as the courtyard with a shop & cafe with free parking. I was a little surprised by this, yes there was lots to see and do here, but it seemed a bit on the pricey side. If you do visit before the first of September 2026 then there is a small discount when you buy a ticket upon entry. Of course, if you're a NT member, you get in for free, as do English Heritage members too when you show your membership cards. Make that another reason to visit!

We then had about an a two hour journey across to Cheshire Oaks designer outlet, where we grabbed some lunch and spent the afternoon shopping. I treated myself to a couple of new shirts from Allsaints, whereas James got some new trainers. We were staying the night a bit further out from Liverpool, to try and make the journey into Yorkshire a little bit less. We had a hearty breakfast in the morning at the hotel, before heading for Spofforth Castle. But thats all in the next post!