Early Life
In 1527, the Hardwicks were probably hoping for a son, as they had only one male infant and another would have provided extra security to the integrity of the Hardwick estate. Little is known of Bess’s early life in Hardwick Hall, but she later recalled that her mother had been a doting and sensible woman. John Hardwick died of an unknown illness when Bess was only 7 months old, leaving Elizabeth Leake a widow at only 28. Fortunately, he had time to make arrangements and write a will before he died. His brother, Roger, took over management of the estate.
Unfortunately, there were legal complications surrounding the precise value of the estate, not helped by John’s heir being 18 months old when his father died. Eventually, the Crown took about a third of the Hardwick estate and Roger died two years after his brother, and so Elizabeth remarried to help the family. Her new husband was Ralph Leach, a younger son with a few pieces of land whose family lived at Chatsworth, by whom she had three more daughters to add to her son and four daughters. The Chatsworth manor was to play a big part in Bess’s later life.
Aged 12, Bess was sent away to live with a distant cousin, Lady Zouche of Codnor Castle, in her London residence. Although technically a servant, Bess would have learned how to be a lady. Her service would have been attending family events, aiding Lady Zouche’s toilette, learning to hunt, and learning to dance. Courtly manners aside, the main motivation for such arrangements was to network with important people. Lady Zouche had been a lady-in-waiting to Queens Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour, and had many important connections. Bess’s time in London possibly helped to develop her appetite for luxury.