Hardwick Park

The modern new Visitor Centre has excellent facilities including an interactive exhibition space, fully equipped education room, cafe and public toilets. The Visitor Centre is open 10.00am to 4.00pm daily.  For details of education sessions or room hire, please contact us.

Accessibility

Blue badge parking bays. The visitor centre is fully accessible. The circuit walk is accessible to visitors of all abilities. The surfaced route is a minimum of two metres wide, generally flat and has no steps. There are two slopes but easier alternatives will be marked. Other paths around the park are generally flat but may be muddy at times.

Getting here

Hardwick Park is on the west side of Sedgefield in County Durham. Grid Reference NZ 346 288 (Ordnance Survey map Explorer 305)

By public transport

Nearest bus stop is at Sedgefield High Street. From there it is a 1/2 mile walk following a signposted footpath through the arch of the Hardwick Arms Hotel. Up-to-date timetables are available from Traveline on 0871 200 2233

By car or coach

Hardwick Park is on the A177 Durham to Stockton road on the west side of Sedgefield, 2.5 miles from A1(M) Junction 60 (well sign-posted). Free parking.

On foot, cycle or horse

Paths allow easy access to the park at all times. See Ordnance Survey map Explorer 305.

History of Hardwick

The origin of Hardwick Park goes back a long way. The first trace of ‘Herdewyk’, as it was then known, appears in the ‘Boldon Buke’ in 1183, though its Anglo-Saxon name suggests that there was a settlement here before the Norman conquest. Its first owners were probably the de Herdewyk family. This agricultural hamlet was passed down the generations either through death or marriage until 1748 when it was bought by John Burdon.

Burdon was born in South Shields in 1711 and was the youngest surviving son of 18 children. He came from a wealthy background, his grandfather was Thomas Burdon of Nottingham who had established his fortune in the salt trade. John Burdon trained as a barrister, but apparently never practiced. He became ‘an active magistrate and public man’ in the North East, with interests in coal, lime, clay, shipping, and later banking. He finally became a landowner when his father died leaving him a large inheritance. Burdon owned Hardwick between 1748 and 1790 but initially he lived at Coxhoe Hall near Durham.

Plans to construct a large Palladian villa at Hardwick were never realised but a more modest hall was built over the cellars of the earlier manor. Burdon sold the estate in 1790 but was allowed to continue living there until his death in 1792. He was buried in the family vault in South Shields, although no trace of the grave now survives.

Design of Hardwick Park

Burdon had grand plans for Hardwick Park. He bought it for £10,800 then spent a further £15,000 to create his own pleasure park. At the time, the plans were at the height of fashion. Burdon engaged James Paine to design the buildings and possibly advise on the garden as well. Paine was a distinguished architect who undertook many grand commissions, including Gibside Chapel and New Wardour Castle (the Royal Ballet School in the film ‘Billy Elliott’). These impressive buildings were based on Roman style buildings seen by wealthy people who had been on the ‘Grand Tour’ in Italy. They were known as Palladian style, after the Italian Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio. This style featured open pillared porches, arches and shallow roofs suitable for a hot Italian climate – but perhaps not so suited to the County Durham climate!

The park follows the style of William Kent, a leading landscape architect. He was one of the first to design the English landscape garden – a style of gardening that, although cleverly designed and heavily engineered, was meant to look completely natural. It was a far step from the formal gardens of the past. Paine created ‘ruins’, lakes and woodland copses which looked like they had always been part of the landscape. Even the Serpentine, which fed the main lake, was created to look like a river flowing through the park.

Paine worked with many others to create this ‘natural’ landscape and ornate buildings. Local builder John Bell may also have played some part in the design of the various structures at Hardwick. Burdon engaged some of the finest designers and craftworkers available in Europe to decorate the buildings. Their work can be seen at many other famous buildings across the country. The interiors featured stucco work by Giuseppe Cortese (now known for his work at Fairfax House in York), frescoes by Giuseppe Mattia Borgnis and paintings by Francis Hayman and Samuel Wade, both founding members of the Royal Academy.

The circuit walk (1 mile)

The structures in Hardwick Park were designed to be experienced from the circuit walk, set around two artificial lakes. Visitors encountered classical buildings (their styles becoming more complex and decorative as the route progressed) alternating with Gothic structures. The classical buildings were carefully finished and situated in open areas, while the Gothic structures were roughly finished, designed to look old or ruined, and presented in dark and gloomy surroundings. Each structure was sited to link with the others through complex geometric relationships.

Plantings were carefully located to conceal or frame views, so that every experience was distinct and unable to be anticipated. Each planned stop on the circuit walk was designed to create a different mood or feeling.

Archaeology and restoration

Many of the original features and structures of the landscaped gardens had fallen into decay by the early years of the twentieth century. By the time that the restoration project began, in some cases only the stubs of walls protruded above ground. In others, the structure had collapsed completely or been demolished, their remains becoming buried beneath soil and vegetation to the extent that their precise location was unknown. So, either detailed recording of visible remains or archaeological excavation, or both, were required before work could begin. Geophysical surveying was another technique employed to locate long-buried features.

The dam

The dam and associated features at the north-west end of the lake along with the adjacent Bath House and Bono Retiro were the focus of much archaeological work. The remains of an ornamental cascade and a spillway were encountered along with water management features such as culverts relating to a series of ornamental ponds (the Finger Ponds and Bottle Pond).

The Bath House

Among the other architectural ‘follies’ scattered about the park was the Bath House, situated at the western end of the Grand Terrace. This was not among the structures selected for reconstruction although locating its position was important for future management. The building was neo-classical in design with a portico of four Doric-style columns supporting a pediment in the centre of its frontage. The actual bath was in the centre of the building with rooms to either side. The bases of the columns along with the foundations of the south end of the building were revealed by excavation. A circular recess cut into one of the column bases was found to contain a Dutch coin minted in 1745. Parts of the interior were excavated though over large areas the flooring did not survive. During clearance of the rubble overlying the remains, many fragments of carved stonework were recovered along with black and red ceramic roof tiles and pieces of wall plaster.

The Bono Retiro

This structure stood in the western part of the garden positioned on a raised mound west of the centre of the dam. Its east facing façade comprised five bays and two storeys in the Gothic style, with a regular pattern of pointed-arch windows.

The accompanying pictures show the state of the Bono Retiro in the early 1900s and at the start of the restoration programme. Excavation and building surveys revealed the plan of the building and demonstrated that it had undergone at least four separate phases of construction or alteration during its life span. Measuring some 10 metres wide by 7.5 metres deep it took the form of a façade flanked by two towers. It was built of brick and sandstone rubble with an external facing of sandstone blocks. Originally it consisted of a large rectangular room flanked by two alcoves. Centrally positioned on the back wall of the main room was a large, ornate fireplace. Many fragments of carved stone from the archways, doorframes and window frames were recovered from the rubble overlying the remains of the building. Areas of plaster survived in situ in places, and bore traces of a faded yellow ochre-coloured paint. Investigation of the floor of the room revealed an elaborate system of brick and stone-lined channels. These are thought to belong to an under-floor heating system or hypocaust. This was a form of heating invented by the Romans and its employment at Hardwick is ironic given the existence of the long forgotten Roman settlement beneath East Park.

The Temple of Minerva

This structure stood on a small hill to the south-west of the Serpentine Lake. The temple was dedicated to Minerva, goddess of wisdom and patroness of the arts. The architect’s original drawings preserved in the County Record Office along with early photographs show that it consisted of a single chamber 18 feet square supporting an octagonal superstructure and covered by a leaded dome. The exterior wall of the ground floor was decorated with niches containing busts of classical writers through the ages. Surrounding the structure was a colonnade of twenty ionic-style columns. By the 1970s only the four brick walls of the ground floor were left standing and much of the geometric pattern marble floor had been removed. The photographs illustrate the various stages of investigation and restoration.

Decline

In 1790, Burdon sold Hardwick to William Russell. Burdon continued to live in the hall until his death two years later. Russell and his son Matthew continued to improve the property, completing the planting and elaborating on Burdon’s original concept while remaining faithful to it. In 1822, six years after Matthew died, Hardwick was transferred by marriage to the Boyne family. They intermittently rented it to tenants, losing interest in the upkeep and improvement of what was now considered an outdated landscape. Sculptures and other valuable objects were vandalised, stolen, or removed to the Boynes' other properties, and the lake was drained some time between 1858 and 1873. Although in the 1890s the Hon. Gustavus William Hamilton-Russell moved back to Hardwick, beginning a programme of repairs and refurbishment, the estate, like many others in the country, became a liability and a drain on the resources of its owners.

In 1933 the estate was sold to the Ramsden family who never lived in the hall but rented it out for various uses. For a time, Durham County Council made it a training base for the unemployed while it also accommodated ‘Bevin Boys’ during the Second World War. Around the same time the army was allowed to use the park and an aerial photo from 1946 shows the Bath House in ruins and the Bono Retiro roofless. In the 1950s the Banqueting House was demolished, and the hall became a maternity hospital for a number of years. This long period of decline had one unintentional benefit in that no significant alteration has ever been made to the original design.

Restoration to a country park

In 1967, the Ramside Group bought and restored the derelict hall before opening it as an hotel. Durham County Council acquired 30 acres of the park in 1972 for use as a country park, adding a further ten acres two years later. Following a public inquiry in the 1980s, we were required to protect its three listed structures: the Temple of Minerva, the Gothic Tower and the Gothic Bridge. For financial and safety reasons, only the core of the temple was left standing but a considerable amount of repair work was undertaken on the Gothic Ruin. Only the rapidly crumbling Serpentine Bridge was fully restored however, with the work being completed in 1994. Otherwise, a lack of resources meant that the county council was unable to protect its other parkland structures or restore the decaying landscape.

Restoration to an 18th century landscape

When Peter Jones, a local doctor, was out enjoying a quiet country walk in 1996, he stumbled across recently disturbed ground in Bath plantation, just west of Hardwick Hall. The land, which at the time was in private ownership, had been dug up to install drainage pipes. In the process, the final remains of the Bath House were damaged. Peter felt that yet another piece of the park’s history was lost and he vowed to do something about it. Little did Peter realise the chain of events that would subsequently unfold when he raised this matter with Ken Manton, who was at the time the county council member for Sedgefield. Neither, if truth be told, did Ken. The message from Peter was clear; Durham County Council must protect this fragile 18th century landscape from further destruction and so, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Hardwick Restoration Project was born.

Past and present – can it co-exist?

The biggest challenge for the council has been restoring the park as closely as possible to its original state, while meeting modern day requirements. Hardwick Park is Grade II listed by English Heritage. This status means we have a responsibility to recreate and manage the site sensitively because of its historical importance. The plants and wildlife in the park are protected in law. In addition, it is our responsibility to make sure the park complies with the Disability Discrimination Act and health and safety legislation – something which would not have been considered in the 18th century.

Managing these different requirements sometimes requires completely opposing approaches. We have had to make practical and sensible compromises to allow each interest to be preserved to a reasonable extent. The integrity of the park’s historic heart has been saved while continuing to retain the ecological value.

Nature conservation has been included in a number of ways:

• At the expense of a slightly smaller than original lake, the fen carr, a nationally important habitat, has been incorporated into the design
• An artificial otter holt has been built on the new lake
• Wildflower meadows have been created
• The lake was recreated which now attracts significant numbers and species of waterfowl

What about the future?

This site is looked after by our Countryside Service. With its combination of landscape quality, heritage interest, archaeological remains and ecological diversity, Hardwick Park is a very valuable site. It will be managed to promote and preserve all of these different elements.

Ongoing events and education sessions will celebrate the dramatic views and the wealth of history and wildlife contained within these revived pleasure grounds. We will continue to offer specialist events which help people to appreciate and understand the natural elements that the park offers.

Of course, Hardwick Park is also a place that many visitors appreciate purely for its tranquillity and green space. They may come to see the ducks, have a picnic or walk their dogs: Hardwick Park really is one of those sites that has something for everyone.

Our valuable volunteers

Hardwick Park benefits greatly by being at the heart of a local community. To help the park reach its full potential, our staff need the assistance of volunteers. Their help and dedication is invaluable. We are lucky enough to have two sets of volunteers:

Friends of Hardwick

The Friends of Hardwick was formed very early in the restoration process, with Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister, as president. The friends are local people who want to see the historic 18th century landscape restored as faithfully as possible. The friends have worked in close partnership with council staff and other landowners to raise funds for Hardwick Park; to replace the Statue of Neptune; and to research and write about the park’s history. Future plans include fundraising, further historical research and restoration and involvement in events.

Durham Voluntary Countryside Ranger Service (DVCRS)

This amazing group of over 300 people carries out practical conservation work across County Durham’s countryside. At Hardwick Park they were involved in the initial transformation of the derelict landscape into a country park. More recently they rose to the massive challenge of reconstructing the boardwalk which enables visitors to access the fen carr. The DVCRS will be of continual support in the future helping us with things such as cutting back vegetation, monitoring the wildlife, picking litter and helping at public events and education sessions. Of course, you can also help out on a more informal basis – you don’t need to become a member of either group.

You can make your own valuable contribution to Hardwick Park. If you interested in finding out more about the Friends of Hardwick, DVCRS or other ways to help, please get in with us at the contacts below.

More information

For more countryside information, please click on one of the links below

Visiting Durham's Countryside and Coast

Countryside volunteering

Countryside events and guided walks

Surveys for protected species and other wildlife

Environmental Education

Countryside Publications

Other sources of information

Friends of Hardwick

Heritage Lottery Fund

Pilgrim Trust