Step back in time and relish the beauty of the past, but with the benefit of all mod cons, on your next short break away
WORDS: CLAIRE SAUL
Hardwick Haven
JILL TATE, LANDMARK TRUST_JOHN MILLAR, HEARTBEAT HOLIDAYS, ENGLISH HERITAGE, NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES MIKE HENTON
In 1584 Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, fled from her magnificent Derbyshire home, Chatsworth, to her family estate nearby at Hardwick.
It was yet another tumultuous episode in the extraordinary life of “Bess”, one of the most remarkable women of Tudor England.
An ambitious builder, Bess soon began to remodel and significantly extend Hardwick Hall, drawing on the latest, fashionable Italian house designs. But in 1590, before this had been completed, the digging of foundations began for a second grand house, adjacent to it. The two buildings were intended to complement each other.
East Lodge is one of two lodges that were set into the corners of the first hall’s forecourt in 1620, during the residence of Bess’ son William, to accommodate higher status servants. It later became a laundry and then in 1924, the residence of the night watchman.
It has two bedrooms and spectacular views – not only of the old hall on one side and the ‘new’ hall on the other, but also a bird’s-eye view across the lush Derbyshire countryside. english-heritage.org.uk/visit/holiday-cottages/
Swinging 60s Chic
Enjoy an immersive 1960s experience at Peartree Cottage in Shildon, County Durham, originally built as labourers’ accommodation for the adjacent farm. The two-bedroom cottage has been extended and refurbished with ’60s décor (hello again, Formica) and original ephemera, including a Belling electric oven, a record player and those ubiquitous flying ducks on the wall.
A must for fans of television show Heartbeat and all the baby boomers amongst us! Find it on heartbeat-holidays.com and at Airbnb.co.uk as Peartree Cottage, Shildon.
Suffolk Treasure
Sutton Hoo is famous for the hoard of 7th century Anglo-Saxon treasure discovered there in 1939, hidden away for over 1300 years in burial mounds in the land surrounding the home of Edith Pretty. Edith initially stashed as many of the items as she could into her safe and slept with the remainder, which included gold and silver jewellery and pieces of armour, tucked under her bed in Sutton Hoo House. The items were later
