Bess of Hardwick is one of the most fascinating women
of the sixteenth century and her most famous building,
Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, survives as a fine example
of Elizabethan creativity, magnificence and pride. This
talk outlines Bess’s remarkable life and then will briefly
touch on the architecture and contents of Hardwick
Hall, surely her lasting monument.
Dr. Gillian White specialises in the history and visual
arts of late medieval and sixteenth-century England.
She began her career at the Warwickshire Museum and
then worked for the National Trust as Curator /
Collections Manager at Hardwick Hall, about which she
then wrote her PhD at Warwick University. She now
teaches art history part-time in the Continuing
Education Department at Oxford University, as
well as freelance lecturing and teaching. This lecture is
the fourth outing for Gillian with the Society.
