Bess of Hardwick

• Elizabeth Hardwick was a member of the Elizabethan gentry
• She was married four times, to Robert Barlow in 1543, Sir William Cavendish in 1547, Sir William Loes in 1559, and George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury in 1567
• Her marriages provided her with the funds to transform Hardwick Hall
• Talbot owned glassworks, foundries, ships, coal mines and agricultural land
• Bess and George Talbot had a good relationship with Queen Elizabeth, and were given custody of Mary Queen of Scots in 1569
• When Talbot died, Bess became one of the richest people in England
• She is a good example of the gentry becoming increasingly wealthy