First Marriage
While in London, Bess contracted the first of four marriages, to 14-year-old Robert Barlow, heir to a neighbouring estate, and became Elizabeth Barlow. It is thought that the couple lived at his ancestral manor house, Barlow Woodseats Hall, before his death in 1544. The marriage was never consummated because of their youth and Robert's sickly health. As Robert's widow, Bess was entitled to one-third of the revenues of the Barlow estate.
Read more about this topic: Bess Of Hardwick
Famous quotes containing the word marriage:
“In all perception of the truth there is a divine ecstasy, an inexpressible delirium of joy, as when a youth embraces his betrothed virgin. The ultimate delights of a true marriage are one with this.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“If a marriage is going to work well, it must be on a solid footing, namely money, and of that commodity it is the girl with the smallest dowry who, to my knowledge, consumes the most, to infuriate her husband. All the same, it is only fair that the marriage should pay for past pleasures, since it will scarcely procure any in the future.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)