The daughter of an impoverished landowner, she married well and outlived all four of her husbands. She also lived through four reigning monarchs, reaching the grand old age of 80 - most unusual in Tudor times.
A Teenage Bride
Bess was in the service of a wealthy Derbyshire family when she met and married her first husband, Robert Barlow. She was 15 and he was only 13. Apparently he died before the marriage was consummated but, by law and custom, she was left a third of his property.She subsequently went on to marry wealthy landowner William Cavendish, (from whom the Dukes of Devonshire descend) and later Sir William St.Loe, who was captain of the guard to the Queen.
Her last marriage, to the powerful George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, was not a happy one - she accused him of an affair with Mary Queen of Scots (he was her guardian) and he called her a shrew. But she outlived him by almost 20 years.
Though each of her husbands was richer than the last, each of them must have benefited from Bess's canny head for business. In her own right, she was renowned as a moneylender, property dealer, investor in iron works, coal mines and glass works. She bought the famous pearls, in the portrait above right, by herself - one at a time.
Click here for essential information about visiting Hardwick Hall
In 2008, the 400th anniversary of the death of Bess of Hardwick is being commemorated with a series of special events and exhibitions. To find out more, check the special Bess of Hardwick website.
