Bess's four marriages Bess of Hardwick

1 bess s 4 marriages

1.1 first marriage
1.2 second marriage
1.3 third marriage
1.4 fourth marriage

bess s 4 marriages
first marriage

in 1543, bess married 13-year-old robert barley (or barlow), heir neighbouring estate. exact date of marriage robert unknown. thought marriage took place late may 1543, shortly before death of robert s father on 28 may, although there no documentary evidence substantiate this. there no evidence lived man , wife. robert died in december 1544. there no issue marriage, had been arranged locally, protect barley patrimony , mitigate impact of wardship on barley estate should robert succeed father underage heir. traditional story robert , bess met in london while in service of lady zouche based on oral history, can dated late seventeenth century (some eighty years after bess s death). marital claims robert s estate disputed, , following death bess refused dower peter freschevile. court battle ensued, resulted in bess being awarded claim on barley estate , compensation, albeit several years after robert s death.

second marriage

arms of cavendish: sable, 3 buck s heads cabossed argent

on 20 august 1547, bess married twice-widowed sir william cavendish (died 1557), treasurer of king s chamber, , became lady cavendish. wedding took place @ 2 o clock in morning, @ home of grey family, friends of couple. sir william more twice bess s age , father of 2 daughters. fortune had been made following dissolution of monasteries, since official of court of augmentations able select choice properties himself. possibly acting on bess s advice, sir william sold lands in south of england , bought chatsworth estates in home county of derbyshire. sir william cavendish died on 25 october 1557, leaving bess widowed second time , in deep debt crown. upon death, bess claimed sum of property, having insisted land settled on heirs. 8 children born of marriage, 2 of whom died in infancy:

frances cavendish (18 june 1548 – january 1632), eldest child, wife of sir henry pierrepont, mp. children follows:

robert pierrepont, 1st earl of kingston-upon-hull married gertrude talbot. had 5 sons including henry pierrepont, 1st marquess of dorchester , william pierrepoint, mp. robert forebear of dukes of kingston-upon-hull, extinct since 1773. earls manvers (extinct in 1955) succeeded pierrepont estates.
elizabeth pierrepont married sir thomas erskine, 1st earl of kellie, forebear of earls of kellie. title of earl of kellie extant.
grace pierrepont married sir george manners. had 4 children, including john manners, 8th earl of rutland.


temperance cavendish (10 june 1549 – 1550), 2nd child, died in infancy.
henry cavendish (17 december 1550 – 28 october 1616), 3rd child, godson of queen elizabeth i. married grace talbot. henry cavendish, forebear of barons waterpark. title of baron waterpark extant. hated wife , had no legitimate children. instead had 8 illegitimate children, 4 boys , 4 girls. after attempting , failing liberate niece arbella stuart mother s estate, disinherited mother. bess referred him bad son henry .
william cavendish, 1st earl of devonshire (27 december 1552 – 3 march 1626), 4th child, forebear of extant dukes of devonshire.
charles cavendish (28 november 1553 – 4 april 1617), 5th child, godson of queen mary of england. married catherine ogle, 8th baroness ogle. had son:

william cavendish, 1st duke of newcastle-upon-tyne, forebear of dukes of newcastle, extinct since 1691. barony of ogle in abeyance, more 1 person has legal right claim title. estates passed through female line dukes of portland , newcastle-under-lyne, both extinct.


elizabeth cavendish (31 march 1555 – 21 january 1582), 6th child, wife of charles stuart, 1st earl of lennox. had daughter:

lady arbella stuart, 2nd countess of lennox, married william seymour, 2nd duke of somerset, extant title.


mary cavendish (january 1556 – april 1632), 7th child, wife of gilbert talbot, 7th earl of shrewsbury. had 5 children including:

lady alatheia (or alethea) talbot, married thomas howard, 1st earl of norfolk. title of duke of norfolk extant.
lady mary talbot married william herbert, 3rd earl of pembroke. title earl of pembroke extant.
lady elizabeth talbot married henry grey, 8th earl of kent. title earl of kent grey family has been extinct since 1740.


lucrece cavendish (born , died 1556), 8th child, twin of mary.

third marriage

arms of st loe: argent, bend sable

in 1559 bess married third time, sir william st loe (1518–1565) (alias st lowe, saintlowe, sentloe, etc.) , became lady st loe. new husband captain of guard queen elizabeth , chief butler of england. owned large west country estates @ tormarton in gloucestershire , chew magna in somerset, while principal residence @ sutton court in stowey. when died without male issue in 1564/5, in suspicious circumstances (probably poisoned younger brother), left bess, detriment of daughters , brother. in addition own 6 surviving children, bess responsible 2 daughters of sir william cavendish first marriage. however, 2 daughters adults , otherwise provided for.

sir william st loe s death left bess 1 of wealthiest women in england. annual income calculated amount £60,000, (£nan of 2017). further, lady of bedchamber daily access queen, favour enjoyed. still in late 30s, bess retained looks , health, , number of important men began courting her.

fourth marriage

arms of talbot: gules, lion rampant within bordure engrailled or

despite being courted several suitors, bess did not remarry until 1568, when married fourth time become countess of shrewsbury. new husband, george talbot, 6th earl of shrewsbury, 1 of premier aristocrats of realm, , father of 7 children first marriage. indeed, 2 of children married 2 of hers in double ceremony in february 1568: bess s daughter mary cavendish, aged 12, given in marriage shrewsbury s eldest son gilbert, aged 16; while bess s son, sir henry cavendish, aged 18, married shrewsbury s daughter lady grace talbot, aged 8.

in year before bess , earl of shrewsbury married, political disturbance arose in scotland north, profoundly affect lives. rebel scottish lords rose against mary, queen of scots, imprisoned her, , forced abdicate in favour of one-year-old infant son, james. in may 1568, mary escaped captivity in scotland, , fled south towards england, seeking protection of cousin, queen elizabeth. however, english authorities not sure how receive her. on 18 may, taken protective custody @ carlisle castle local officials.

queen elizabeth felt obliged host , protect mary, cousin, against rebellious scottish lords. however, due mary s persistent claim english throne, elizabeth regarded threat. elizabeth had mary moved bolton castle in yorkshire, lodged under guard of francis knollys, pending york conference inquiry, regarding mary s fate. inquiry results inconclusive; yet elizabeth did not set mary free. instead, mary detained under custody of earl of shrewsbury, , wife bess. elizabeth s instruction bess , husband amounted little more mary s house arrest. mary reached new residence, tutbury castle, in february 1569, when 26 years old, , remain in custody of shrewsbury , bess 15 years. elizabeth shifted costs of imprisonment shrewsbury. mary s presence in home, financial costs , political tensions, may have contributed rift between shrewsbury , bess, lead break-up of marriage.

while in care of earl , countess, queen mary lived @ 1 or of many houses in midlands: tutbury, wingfield manor, chatsworth house, , sheffield manor. throughout period, bess spent time mary s companion, working on embroidery , textile projects. indeed, mary s work later become part of bess s historical collection @ hardwick hall, inspired rhyme, hardwick hall, more glass wall , because of number , size of windows.

bess of hardwick, 1550s

bess joined mary @ chatsworth extended periods in 1569, 1570, , 1571, during time worked on oxburgh hangings. not until mary removed keeper, sir amias paulet, got trouble lead execution. previous queen s change in custody, shrewsbury , bess separated good. had been apart, off , on, since 1580; , queen elizabeth had tried them reconcile. mary seems have aggravated, if not created, problems playing them off against each other. countess spread rumors husband shrewsbury had been in relationship mary, charge has never been proved or disproved, seems unlikely given shrewsbury s disposition , increasingly poor health. on death in 1590, bess became dowager countess of shrewsbury.