The secrets of Britain’s most successful marriage maker revealed

Historians are today launching an online resource that will provide a permanent and publicly accessible record of the letters of one of Elizabethan England's most remarkable figures. "The new archive, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), will make the Letters of Bess of Hardwick available online alongside annotations and analysis from academic experts from the University of Glasgow. Technical development of the website was undertaken by the University of Sheffield's Humanities Research Institute. It is the first time that the letters, which are currently held in 19 separate locations around the world, have ever been collected, transcribed, digitised and uploaded for public use." Bess of Hardwick lived between c.1522 and 1608 and rose from obscurity to become the second richest woman in the land, behind only Queen Elizabeth herself. Over the course of her long life she became known as an indomitable matriarch and dynast and the driving force behind the construction of several of the nation's great country houses including Hardwick Hall and Chatsworth House. She also wrote more than 240 letters that researchers on the 3 year project believe will open a window to one of the richest archives of Tudor society in existence today. Written over a period of almost 60 years, the letters provide fascinating insights into language, literacy and cultural environments of Sixteenth century England.