Forecourt at Hardwick New Hall

Elizabethan houses were surrounded by walled gardens, each of which could have a different character. The forecourt at Hardwick New Hall forms the western garden. It has, in its walls, small lozenge-plan summerhouses or what the Elizabethans called banqueting houses. They were used for taking dessert (banquets) after meals. There are other banqueting houses in the north and south gardens and on the roof. Guests would walk on the leads of the roof after dinner, survey the gardens and Bess's estate stretching into the distance and enjoy a 'banquet' up while there.