Hackwood Park was built for the 1st Duke of Bolton (1603-87), probably by William Talman (1650-1719). It retains its original composition with a hipped roof and wings at right angles, but the south front was remodelled in the eighteenth century by John Vardy, and there were further alterations in the early nineteenth century by Samuel and Lewis Wyatt. Robert Adam was engaged by the 6th Duke of Bolton (1720-94), and he made designs for two small buildings in the park, a lodge and a cottage. Neither was executed.

The five drawings for the Duke's unexecuted cottage and lodge at Sir John Soane's Museum are the only known Adam designs for Hackwood Park. There is, however, a design for a rustic building at the V&A, which Rowan has identified as characteristic of rustic Adam buildings of the 1770s, other examples are for the Earl of Harborough, Lord Wemyss, Mr Dalzell and Samuel Smith.

See also: Bolton House, London

Literature
A.T. Bolton, The architecture of Robert and James Adam, 1922, Volume II, Index p. 15; M. Bullen, J. Crook, R. Hubbuck, and N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Hampshire: Winchester and the north, 2010, pp. 304-309; R. White, 'John Vardy, 1718-1765: Palladian into Rococo', in R. Brown (ed.)., The architectural outsiders, 1985, pp. 75-76; A. Rowan, Robert Adam: catalogues of architectural drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1988, p. 42; D. King, The complete works of Robert & James Adam and unbuilt Adam, 2001, Volume II, pp. 218, 253

Frances Sands, 2011