Early Life
"Bess of Hardwick" was born "Elizabeth Hardwick" to John Hardwick and his wife, Elizabeth Leake, in the early 1520s. The family lived on an estate of about 5,000 acres (20 km2) in the parish of Ault Hucknall on the north-east border of the county, looking over Nottinghamshire. John Hardwick died around forty years of age, leaving a widow, son (and heir), and four daughters. His widow, Elizabeth, then married the son of a neighbouring family, the Leches of Chatworth. Bess grew up fairly educated, as compared to her female peers of the Elizabethan Era, as indicated by her later letters. She also became familiar with city life and the Tudor Court after being sent to live in the London household of Anne Gainsford at Codnor Castle at the age of twelve. Here, she was influenced by Lady Zouche. Also, her marrying life now began.
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“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
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