Hardwick Hall. Documentary on the great Derbyshire house with Nick Rowling 1989.

[Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign higher yet in the very east frontier of derbyshire upon a rough and craggy soil standeth hardwick [Music] which gave name to a family in which possessed the same out of which descended lady elizabeth countess elizabeth of shrewsbury who began to build their two goodly houses joining in a manner one to the other which by reason of their lofty situation show themselves are far off to be seen and yield a very goodly prospect this magnificent house started in 1590 and completed only seven years later has hardly been altered since it was first furnished and inhabited it's thus a document of great historical interest and importance nevertheless it's not easily interpreted for a start it's a highly original and unusual building mixing elements from diverse architectural traditions this stumpy banded tuscan column is part of an impressive italianate colonnade where traditionally we might expect a small porch but the extravagant display of glass which was very expensive in elizabethan england is as much indebted to pre-reformation late gothic architecture while the strap work and heraldry are flemish in origin the initials es are those of its creator and conceiver though not in a strict sense its architect elizabeth countess of shrewsbury best as she was colloquially known was a tough able and ambitious girl who had followed the only career open to a woman of talent and ambition marriage through skill and luck she found four husbands all wealthy and each wealthier than the one before and having outlived the last she began to indulge her passion for building in earnest after the death of her fourth husband bess was one of the richest women in england and she owned estates scattered across derbyshire these estates provided almost all the materials used in the building of the house she owned a glassworks at wingfield alabaster and blackstone for the finer carving came from her quarries and the lead and iron was supplied by her minds bess also commanded a large labor force which was obliged under a relic of feudalism to provide labor and pack horses to carry the timber from her woodlands the sandstone was quarried on the estate which saved bess the otherwise considerable cost of transport unskilled labour's wages were low and kept down by government legislation so the splendid extravagance of the house was made possible by the pitiful living standards of the workforce which created it the gatehouse and the heraldry walled and battlemented courtyard are more playful echoes of a feudal tradition since this house the product of the tudor piece did not need to be fortified and defended [Music] but the house itself is thoroughly up to date in a number of ways like almost all later tudor architecture the facade is symmetrical and in this respect it accords with renaissance italian architectural theory but italian architects preferred simple and clearly defined geometrical forms whereas hardwick like many elizabethan houses is full of dramatic adjustments bays which come forward and turrets which break the skyline [Music] but at hardwick the stories increase in height in accordance with the status of the rooms which lie behind the ground floor contains the service rooms the first floor higher by a third houses the family rooms the story above with great windows reaching from floor to ceiling holds the state apartments [Music] of all the great elizabethan houses it is the smallest it creates its effect of grandeur not through scale but through the sophistication of the planning one reason it could be small is that even after it was begun in 1590 the countess was still finishing the remodeling of the manor house in which he had been born situated to the south west of the new building she added sumptuous apartments to accommodate extra guests and the senior household servants more money was available for building after the countess his fourth husband died in 1590 also the ambition and experience of the owner builder were greater and this house began when the countess was 70 and at the end of a vigorous building career has a self-confidence and conviction which her earlier buildings lacked bess's new hall at hardwick although yet another example of the elizabethan grandes building mania is unusual that it is not an adaptation or remodeling of an earlier building although most features of the exterior are typical of great elizabethan houses the interior is a revelation one of the most original and innovative designs erected anywhere in europe at that date for a start the hall is placed symmetrically behind the entrance and it stretches across the whole width of the building this arrangement also employed in the old hall was something new in english architecture where traditionally the hall lay along the facade thereby often destroying the symmetrical effect of the hole hardwick has parallels with italian developments many of andrea palladio's villa designs for example badoe had the hall cited in the same way the hall had several functions it was the public reception room of the house the lower servants dined here and some probably even slept here tenants came to pay their rents here and at christmas and other festive occasions it would be used for feasting it does not seem though as if the count is ever ate here there is a screen as in earlier halls but this one supports a gallery which links the rooms above it is the most classical feature of the house with a correct roman freeze we know the name of the carver william griffin the rather coarse carving of the fireplace with a countess's crest her coronet supported by two stags was carved by abraham smith the master plasterer who worked throughout the house much of the decoration consists of wall hangings and embroideries made by bess her family and servants two hangings show famous and worthy wives with personifications of their virtues penelope with perseverance and patience some of the applied silks and velvets were made out of copes used before the reformation in catholic liturgy but later sold for the value of their materials these have been purchased by bess's third husband sir williamson low this cushion cover shows the rape of europa throughout hardwick the emphasis of bess's decorative schemes is on stories of famous women this collection reminds us that embroidery was one of the few recreations considered suitable for women in the 16th century that hardwick has one of the finest collections of the period is unsurprising since it was preeminently a woman's house conceived by her and in the case of many of the embroideries furnished by her taste and skill as well originally these embroideries would have been in the private and state rooms ground floor was the service floor and we can see how the hall is efficiently connected to the kitchen buttery and dairies these were in turn linked by a service stair to the dining room above the kitchen well lit and logically planned has a central area for the preparation of food the large hearth would have originally had an open fire for cooking and there were ovens for baking in this early drawing by the surveyor robert smithson we see the italianate influence in the symmetrical arrangement of the stairs two dogleg stairs were planned which would rise on either side of the hall but this idea was modified while the house was being built instead a processional route was created which begins in the hall follows the corridor until we encounter one of the most dramatic features of the house this grand staircase which rises through the building linking all the important rooms on each floor who designed this coup d'etre it is reasonable to assume that the countess could well have conceived such a marvelous staircase but she could hardly have designed the intricate structural details and here she was almost certainly assisted by robert smithson the architect of wooleton and many other fine midland houses originally there were no tapestries on the staircase which suggests that the austere effect of white geometrical space must have been something the count is delighted in this dramatic plaster work of a soldier's head beneath a flaming grenade acts as a symbolic guardian to the countess's private apartments the room has been altered since bess's time but the tapestries with our unidentified theme have been here since then tapestries were often sold and adapted these were created for another house and the original coat of arms of the hatton family was over painted with those of the countess the sumptuous tapestries were complemented by exuberant and inventive designs for cushion covers with further episodes from ovid's metamorphosis this one shows the fall of phyton phytons overbearing pride and ambition causes his destruction and sets fire to the world in another story the chaste goddess diana bathing with her nymphs is surprised by the mortal huntsman action as a punishment for seeing her naked he is transformed into a stag and devoured by his dogs the ming jug from china with elizabethan silver mounts reminds us just how extensive was the trade in luxury goods in the 16th century the turkish and persian carpets french and german furniture and flemish tapestries are all evidence of the international euro asian trading opportunities which english merchants were beginning to seize from their continental competitors the private apartments comprised bessie's own bedroom that of her son and that of her granddaughter while the passage over the screen links these private chambers with the dining room on the other side [Music] the winding stair lit by the walls of glass with unexpected landings and spaces continues to the upper story containing the most important state rooms in the house [Music] the high grade chamber is the finest elizabethan ensemble at hardwick the tapestries plaster work and chimney piece were designed as a unity [Music] the delightful freeze was also designed by abraham smith and his plasterers representing once again the court of diana the goddess of hunting and chastity an allusion to elizabeth the virgin queen diana is surrounded by exotic animals camels elephants as well as scenes of boar and deer hunting and other pastoral activities venus chastising cupid continues the catalogue of triumphant female deities the room was designed to accommodate these brussels tapestries depicting the story of ulysses there was no library and few books in hardwick this cultural vacuum was filled by such narrative cycles we find action-packed scenes depicting classical and biblical stories portrayed with drama character and emotional intensity and even in a faded state it is still possible to sense the color and artistry of the original five sets of tapestry were astonishingly expensive other sets survive in the royal palaces of stockholm and madrid the intended effect on the visitor was that of regal splendor the effect would originally have been enhanced by twelve portraits of english monarchs while the panels around the windows are decorated with engravings of roman emperors we can also vividly imagine how the room was used since we know that in 1601 bess and her guests ate off a long table of white wood covered with a fair turkey carpet bear sat in a chair of needlework with gold and silk fringes while her guests sat on elaborately upholstered stools and benches the stately progress culminated in the long gallery all the greatest tudor houses had long galleries they were used for exercise and recreation in the cold and winter while willful girls who might marry against their parents or guardian's wishes were confined in them best bought the gideon tapestries like the one in the drawing room from the hatton family [Music] she paid 321 pounds six shillings for them [Music] apart from the tapestries the room was furnished with two tables draped with carpets this is the 16th century ushak carpet from turkey three chairs three stools two benches and two mirrors completed the furnishings [Music] the gallery also had 40 pictures a mixture of kings and queens members of the family and their relatives and influential connections portraits depict her last husband the earl of shrewsbury her second husband sir william cavendish [Music] her third husband so william sent low mary queen of scots lady arabella stewart her granddaughter who bess was attempting to have recognized as second in line to elizabeth's throne this vast space could be heated by two elaborate fireplaces carved from local stone alabaster and blackstone it's a characteristically vigorous mixture of italian and flemish elements this over mantle contains a figure of justice while the other fireplace celebrates mercy the finest royal icon in the house is the armada portrait of queen elizabeth she's bedecked with jewels and emblems of england's maritime supremacy this personification of national pride and identity also suggests the renewed power of the crown from the center of the gallery an opening leads into another withdrawing chamber in 1601 the furniture included the sea dog table this piece a walnut table supported by shamira's or sea dogs resting on tortoises is french and based on designs by dusser so it's one of the finest pieces of furniture of that day to be found in england it probably originally belonged to either queen elizabeth or mary queen of scots and either may have given it to bess this highly elaborate architectural confection was originally in arabella's room it was probably also designed by ducer so the more classical cupboard decorated with corinthian columns is probably also french the square games table inlaid with a chess board and playing cards is probably english such examples remind us of the importance grandees attach to expensive pieces of furniture this painting of penelope with whom bess appeared particularly to identify a virtuous and faithful woman besieged by suitors while she preferred to sit and wait is one of the few pictures in the house which were not portraits in the summer the progress would have continued to the roof [Music] embellished with a forest of chimneys and turrets it would have been used for exercise in fine weather the east and west turrets were used as bed chambers [Music] the south turret was described as a banqueting room banquet was not a complete meal but a dessert course of sweets fruit and wine and at hardwick there were other banqueting houses in the garden and it was from here the best could survey her vast and profitable lands and no doubt be glimpsed by her tenants and servants as she stood far above them surrounded by her heraldry and wealth hardwick is the memorial of a remarkable woman cosmopolitan in her tastes even if provincial in her opportunities best knew what she wanted and she created it her farms her timber the lead and coal which lay beneath her lands helped realize this ambition and such resources were to be of increasing importance to an economy isolated from europe perhaps but poised for atlantic and ultimately global domination [Applause] [Music] down [Applause] [Music] you

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Length: 24min 12sec (1452 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 27 2020