Hardwick Old Hall

We walked across the grounds to visit the original house built by Bess. The ruins of Hardwick Old Hall, the family home of the celebrated Bess of Hardwick, lie on the crest of the hill next door to the stupendous New Hall she built in the 1590s. From what we were told in the introductory talk, the build was abandoned because the kitchens had been constructed in an unfortunate postion in the plan so that the other main rooms were constantly affected by smoke. Today, this building is basically a shell but it is possible to use the original stairs and platforms that have been constructed at each floor level to view the beautiful plaster decorations. We used an audio tour to assist us in the interpretation of the Old hall