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The new from the old

Looking from the third floor in the west wing of Hardwick Old Hall to Bess of Hardwick's masterpiece of building, the "new" Hardwick Hall, completed in 1597. The Old Hall was finally abandoned in the 18th century but the new house remained in Bess's family until it was handed over to the Treasury in lieu of Estate Duty in 1956. (The other family home is Chatsworth.) The Treasury transferred the house to the National Trust in 1959, who are nearing the end of restoring a suite of rooms to depict the style of occupation in the 1940s and early 1950s. The Old Hall is managed for the National Trust by English Heritage.