Elizabeth Hardwick

Elizabeth Hardwick was born sometime around 1527 and is more commonly known as Bess of Hardwick. Through a succession of advantageous marriages, she rose to the highest levels of English nobility and became enormously wealthy.

Bess was born into a minor gentry family that never rose to any prominence, the daughter of John Hardwick of Derbyshire and his wife Elizabeth Leeke. Because of her mediocre birth, not much is known of her early life; she probably had little academic education and was skilled in the usual ways women of her age and station were: house management, cooking, and needlework.

In 1543, Bess married 13-year-old Robert Barley, heir to a neighbouring estate. The exact date of the marriage is unknown, but it is thought that it took place late in May 1543, shortly before the death of Robert's father on May 28. There is no evidence that they lived together as man and wife, and Robert died in December 1544.

In 1547, Bess married again to the twice-widowed Sir William Cavendish, who was the Treasurer of the King's Chamber; on this marriage, she became Lady Cavendish. Sir William was more than twice her age and the father of two daughters. He had made his fortune following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, since as an official of the Court of Augmentations he was able to select choice properties for himself. This marriage produced eight children, two of whom died in infancy. Cavendish died on October 25, 1557, leaving Bess widowed a second time and in deep debt to the Crown.

Two years later, Bess married for a third time to Sir William St. Loe, who was Captain of the Guard to Queen Elizabeth I and Chief Butler of England. Due to his relationship with Queen Elizabeth I, he was able to reduce the debt Bess owed and pay it back in full on her behalf. It was during this marriage that she became a lady of the bedchamber to Elizabeth I, who greatly favoured her. When her third husband died, he left Bess one of the wealthiest women in England. Her annual income was calculated to amount to £60,000, equivalent to £20,000,000 today.

Despite being in her late thirties, she was still very youthful-looking and beautiful by the day’s standards, and she was wooed by several suitors at court. However, she didn’t remarry until 1568, when she became Countess of Shrewsbury by marrying George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, who was one of the premier aristocrats of the realm and most famous for being a gaoler of Mary Queen of Scots for about 15 years.

It would be this duty that caused marital strife for the couple. During Mary’s imprisonment under her husband’s care, Bess spent time as Mary's companion, working with her on embroidery and textile projects. It is said that Mary would use the couple’s insecurities against them, convincing Talbot that Bess was stealing from him, and there was an insinuation that Talbot and Mary were romantically involved. Queen Elizabeth transferred the cost of Mary’s upkeep to the Talbots, and the staggering financial strain caused even further discord between the married couple. By the time Mary was transferred to the custody of Sir Amias Paulet, her last gaoler before her death, the marriage between Bess and Talbot had broken down, and they lived apart, despite even Elizabeth I herself trying to reconcile them.

After the death of her last husband in 1590, Bess lived primarily at Hardwick Hall, the new mansion she had built. Bess of Hardwick died on Saturday, February 13, 1608, aged 81. On her death, she was one of the richest women in the kingdom.

Portrait of Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury, by Rowland Lockey, 1592

Sources:

Memoirs of Eminent Englishwomen, Vol. 1. "Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury", Louisa Stuart Costello

Bess of Hardwick: Portrait of an Elizabethan Dynasty, David N. Durant

This Costly Countess: Bess of Hardwick, Elizabeth Eisenberg,

Material Girl: Bess of Hardwick, Kate Hubbard