View of the ruins of Hardwick Old Hall, seen from a window in the west...

The ruins of Hardwick Old Hall sits south-west of the New Hall, and retains many of its original features, such as the decorative plasterwork and height of the exterior walls, which are seen in the image. The south and west elevation are the best preserved, with four to five storeys above the basements surviving. The Old Hall had the hall place at a right-angle to the facade and entrance, instead of across the facade of the house, making it an interesting architectural component of the time. This idea was replicated in the New Hall, built for Bess Hardwick between 1590-97 after remodelling the Old Hall between the years 1587-97. The image shows the Old Hall from the vantage point of a upper floor window in the New Hall, shown by the opened window on the left. The view looks over the west garden and garden wall to the sout towards the Old Hall. The Old and New Halls are owned by the National Trust, and English Heritage manages the ruined Old Hall.