2-323-973 - www.picturethepast.org.uk/Nottinghamshire County Council /Heritage Images

Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, c1904. Hardwick Hall is regarded as one of the finest Elizabethan country houses in Britain. It was designed by Robert Smythson, who was also the architect of Longleat House and Wollaton Hall. It is an example of the Renaissance style of architecture that became fashionable when it was no longer felt necessary to fortify country houses. The house was built for Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury. It became a secondary residence of the Dukes of Devonshire, whose main home was nearby at Chatwsorth. Little altered from the time of its construction, it was given to the National Trust in 1959.