Thomas Hardy and Dorset

Please view as well www.dorsets.co.uk/arts_and_crafts/hardy_wessex.html and www.thewordtravels.com/thomas-hardy-and-dorset.html to get a better idea of where all the places in Dorset are that Hardy describes in his books. All of them are close and La Fosse at Cranborne is the perfect base to visit the area and explore Hardy's countryside. Enjoy!

Dorchester (Casterbridge) From La Fosse: 31 miles - 51 minutes
At the edge of Dorchester is Max Gate, designed by Hardy in 1885, and his home for the rest of his life. Max Gate is now in the care of the National Trust www.nationaltrust.org.uk . The Dorset County Museum has a fine collection of Hardy memorabilia, and numerous buildings in the town feature in Hardy novels. Hardy died on January 11 1928 at Max Gate, his house in Dorchester.

Shaftesbury From La Fosse: 25 miles - 40 minutes
Shaftesbury has a key role in Tess and Jude the Obscure. It is here that Sue and Phillotson lived at Ox House in Bimport, round the corner from The Duke’s Arms (based on the Grosvenor Hotel) in the High Street. Jude walked along Abbey Walk, the site of the former Abbey, which was founded by King Alfred (871-901) and became one of the wealthiest Benedictine nunneries in England. From here there is a marvellous view of the Blackmore Vale.

Stinsford (Mellstock) From La Fosse: 30 miles - 49 minutes
Thomas Hardy was christened at the church here, and his first wife Emma is buried in the churchyard. Hardy himself wanted to be buried with her, but only his heart is interred in Emma's grave.

Higher Bockhampton (Upper Mellstock) From La Fosse: 28 miles - 51 minutes
The lovely thatched Hardy's Cottage is the author's birthplace - now run by the National Trust. Thomas Hardy was born on June 2 1840, at Higher Bockhampton in Dorset. His father was a master mason and builder. When he was 16 years old, Hardy helped his father with some architectural drawings for the restoration of Woodsford Castle. The fictional Mellstock in “Under the Greenwood Tree” is based closely upon the real Stinsford and Bockhampton, the area where Hardy was born and brought up.

West Stafford From La Fosse: 31 miles - 55 minutes
The church in West Stafford is the likely marriage place of Tess and Angel Clare in Tess of the d'Urberville's.

Woodsford From La Fosse: 29 miles - 59 minutes
Hardy's father was engaged to repair the thatched Woodsford Castle in 1856. Hardy helped prepare the plans for the remodelling, and on the basis of this work he was offered an apprenticeship to the architect John Hicks, owner of Woodsford Castle.

Moreton From La Fosse: 28 miles - 53 minutes
In the cemetary here is the grave of Hardy's friend TE Lawrence; Lawrence of Arabia.

Bere Regis (Kingsbere) From La Fosse: 25 miles - 40 minutes drive
The town features in Tess and Far From the Madding Crowd. Tess set up her family's bed under the Turberville window in the south wall of the church, and inside the church are the tombs of the Turbervilles.

Athelhampton (Athelhull) From La Fosse: 25 miles - 40 minutes drive
Hardy's father worked on the restoration of the superb medieval hall at Athelhampton, and Hardy himself painted a watercolour of the house.

Puddletown (Weatherbury) From La Fosse: 26 miles - 43 minutes drive
Hardy's grandfather and great-grandfather were Puddletown natives, and the church gallery was celebrated by Hardy in Under the Greenwood Tree. Success ultimately came with “Far From the Madding Crowd”, a novel set in Puddletown, which he renamed Weatherby, close to where he had grown up.

Cerne Abbas (Abbot's Cernel) From La Fosse: 38 miles - 1 hour 7 minutes
The village, more famous for the ancient figure of a giant carved into the hillside, featured in The Woodlanders and Tess of the d'Urbervilles. The tithe barn in Cerne Abbas may also be the model for the great barn in Far From the Madding Crowd.

Lulworth Cove From La Fosse: 29 miles - one hour
Sergeant Troy, the fascinating and faithless soldier in Far From The Madding Crowd (1874) swims from Lulworth Cove. ‘Troy came to a small basin of sea enclosed by the cliffs. www.lulworthonline.co.uk