Famous? Undoubtedly. But does Bess of Hardwick always get the credit she deserves? Probably not, suggests Roly Smith
If there had been a Tudor equivalent to the term ‘gold digger’, it may be excusable to think Elizabeth ‘Bess of Hardwick’ might qualify.
From humble Derbyshire origins, she certainly used her four marriages to rise successively to the peak of English society – becoming one of the wealthiest women in Tudor England.
On the death of her third husband, Bess became the second richest woman in the country, after her close friend and confidante, ‘Good Queen Bess’, Elizabeth I.
Her annual income was estimated at £600,000, equivalent to over £18m today.
However, it would be unfair to see Bess as simply the beneficiary of her husbands’ wills. Over her long life she proved herself an astute businesswoman, moneylender, landowner, and highly efficient estates manager, until well into old age.
Bess was also generous. Even when on limited means, she gave liberally to her children and grandchildren, and frequently made small gifts to her servants.
When one of her maids was due to give birth, Bess would pay for the best midwife available. And she didn’t forget those outside her employment who were less fortunate than herself either. There are several recorded instances of her ‘giving twenty shillings to the poor of Chelsea’ in her financial records.
Bess was born to a well-connected but poor Derbyshire family in around 1527. The family had come to Derbyshire from Sussex in the 13th century, but were still only gentleman-yeomen by the 15th century, farming a few hundred acres mainly in the parish of Ault Hucknall.
While still in her early teens, Bess entered the London household of Queen Anne Boleyn’s former maid-of-honour, Anne Gainsford, Lady Zouche of Codnor Castle.
In what she described as her ‘tender years’ (she was probably younger than 16), Bess married local man Robert Barlow (or Barley), when he was only 13.
Sadly, Bess’s first husband died before either had reached the age of majority, and she spent eight years fighting for the first of her widow’s inheritances. Under normal circumstances, she would have been entitled to one-third of his estate.
Left without income as a widow, the young Bess entered service again, this time in the manor of Lady Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk and Marchioness of Dorset, the latter a niece of Henry VIII and mother of the doomed ‘Nine Days Queen’, Lady Jane Grey.
It was her service under Frances Grey at Bradgate Park in Leicestershire that first brought Bess into elite Tudor circles, and she soon became a favourite of the royal niece.
Bess’s second marriage to Sir William Cavendish took place in 1547. While her first husband had been barely a teenager, her second was twice her age and already the father of two older girls.
William Cavendish was also well connected: he had had recently been appointed treasurer to Henry VIII’s chamber and was a former protégé of Henry’s ill-fated advisor, Thomas Cromwell. Cavendish had originally built his fortune from the dissolution of the monasteries.
Bess immediately appears to have exerted a degree of political influence over her wealthy second husband, despite being 20 years her senior.
He sold land in southern England in exchange for the Chatsworth estate in her home county – quite possibly at his wife’s request.
Bess’s second marriage lasted ten years and produced eight children – six of whom survived infancy. But in 1557, when William Cavendish died, he left his wife in serious debt and was even suspected of embezzling funds from the Crown.
But Bess had an innate talent for keeping in with the right people, and when her long-time friend and confidant Elizabeth Tudor ascended the throne as Elizabeth I in 1558, she employed Bess as her first Lady of the Bedchamber.
By this time, as an indebted widow and single mother of six children, Bess wasn’t exactly a ‘catch’ in the marriage stakes.
Nevertheless, she managed to use her royal friendship to Elizabeth to marry a third time to another influential court figure, Sir William St Loe, in 1559.
Soon after the marriage, Elizabeth appointed St Loe as royal Captain of the Guard and, thanks to her royal friend and wealthy third husband, Bess finally cleared her second husband’s debts.
By the time of William’s death in 1565, Bess had become one of the wealthiest women in England. Then in her late 30s, she had become more attractive in the marriage market and her fourth, final, and most lucrative match was with George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury; one of the most prominent members of the English aristocracy.
But Bess refused to let her fourth husband’s wealth intimidate her. Before tying the knot, she made Shrewsbury guarantee that her family estate at Chatsworth and most of her lands would remain under her control and not taken as part of her husband’s possessions, as was usual in those days.
In 1568, Queen Elizabeth gave the Shrewsburys the dubious ‘honour’ of being custodians to her rival, the exiled captive Scottish queen, Mary, Queen of Scots.
But keeping a captive Queen proved very expensive. Moving Mary from house to house put a severe drain on the couple’s finances – and eventually their relationship.
Initially, Bess and Mary seem to have got along well. The two spent hours together, sewing beautiful needlework that would eventually make its way into the now famous collection of Hardwick Hall textiles.
The textiles, lovingly preserved at Hardwick Hall, are a fabulous collection of 16th and 17th century fabrics, including some items embroidered by Mary herself.
Mary was in the Shrewsbury’s custody for 15 years, including time spent at Chatsworth, where Queen Mary’s Bower still exists in the grounds, and at Sheffield Castle. Mary was eventually executed at Fotheringhay in 1587.
It is significant that at Hardwick Hall itself, the stonework is topped by the initials ‘ES’ – Elizabeth Shrewsbury – not those of her husband.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Hardwick Hall
In 1574, Bess was caught conspiring with Mary’s mother-in-law, Lady Lennox. The two agreed to wed Bess’s daughter, Elizabeth Cavendish, to Lennox’s son, Lord Charles Stuart, a candidate for both the English and Scottish thrones.
Queen Elizabeth was initially furious, but eventually forgave Bess and her daughter was allowed to marry Charles, resulting in the birth of Lady Arbella Stuart.
By this time Bess had embarked on an expensive renovation of Chatsworth House, which put more stress on her marriage.
By the 1580s, their marital estrangement was a national scandal. Queen Elizabeth stepped in to help, but while Bess was re-admitted into her husband’s presence, they rarely lived together for the rest of their lives.
At 63, Bess became a widow for the fourth and final time. By this time, she was officially the richest widow in England.
But scandal struck again when her granddaughter Arbella Stuart was considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth. After a lifelong career of social climbing, Bess still had the burning ambition of seeing a grandchild on the throne.
As might be expected, Elizabeth was less than enthusiastic about having a pretty, young successor at her court, so made Bess keep Arbella detained at home at Hardwick.
In early 1608, Bess’s health suddenly deteriorated, and she contracted pneumonia. On February 13 she passed away at the grand old age of around 81, an incredible achievement for that time.
Bess’s body lay in state for two months at Hardwick, and two public funeral services were held. Meticulous to the end, Bess had chosen her last resting place at All Saints Church (now Derby Cathedral), and approved her own tomb, with its rather stern-faced effigy, which still stands in the south aisle.
It was only in death that Bess achieved her longed-for lineage to the throne. While she is still an ancestor to the current Dukes of Devonshire and Norfolk, she is also an 11 times great-grandmother to the current monarch, King Charles III.
