Second marriage Bess of Hardwick

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.




^ debrett s peerage, 1968, p.355, duke of devonshire
^ cite error: named reference digby invoked never defined (see page).
^ genealogy database daniel de rauglaudre (retrieved 23 december 2012).
^ http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/4935
^ . n. durant, bess of hardwick: portrait of elizabethan dynast (1977)
^ girouard, mark; durant, david (1989). hardwick hall guidebook. national trust of england , wales. isbn 978-1-84359-217-4.