Exploring Thomas Hardy’s Discover the heart of Hardy’s Wessex www.westdorset.com Welcome to the heart of Hardy’s Wessex 1 Thomas Hardy, internationally follow the Hardy Trail, which links renowned poet and novelist, spent together places where he lived, most of his life in Dorset. His works places he wrote about and the are now held in high esteem and church where his heart is buried. studied in schools and universities You will also find information on throughout the world. This leaflet specialist tours, Hardy events and will help you to explore the area that locations used for popular film and inspired Thomas Hardy. You can TV productions of Hardy's novels. Hardy’s study and portrait: Jon Sloper © The Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 2005 Misty morning, Dorchester: (front cover) © Roger Holman www.westdorset.com Thomas Hardy Poet & Novelist 1840 - 1928 Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 at Higher Bockhampton, near Dorchester. He was the eldest of four children and his father was a master mason. As a child he was shy and reflective, encouraged by his mother to read and study beyond the usual level for local children. He was also a keen fiddle-player and often went with his father to play at local christenings, weddings and parties. 2 At 16 Hardy became apprenticed to an architect in Dorchester. He practised as an architect in London for five years but returned to Dorchester after deciding he wanted to write. His first attempt at a novel was rejected, but with the help of Emma Gifford, whom he later married, his second attempt was successful. Over the next 25 years he wrote in all 14 novels and over 50 short stories. In 1895 he published Jude the Obscure, after which he abandoned novel-writing and devoted the rest of his life to poetry. In 1895 he and Emma moved into Max Gate, the house he had designed on the edge of Dorchester. Emma died in 1912 and in 1914 he married Florence Dugdale. He 3 died on 11th January 1928. 8 Hardy adopted the historical name of Wessex as the name for his own ‘partly real, partly-dream country’.The raw materials for his novels came from his life, the country folk and the contrasting landscapes of Dorset. He used a mixture of real and fictional names for landscape features and the towns and villages, drawing from his extensive knowledge of the area. 4 The great majority of locations in Hardy's novels and 1 Eggardon Hill, Nettlecombe stories are set within West Dorset. Among these are Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Under the Greenwood Tree, Far From 2 Portrait of Thomas Hardy the Madding Crowd,The Woodlanders and The Return of the Native. Many of the key locations from these novels are 3 Explore Hardy’s Wessex mentioned throughout this leaflet, the real place names © Afffinity Image Library are shown first, followed by those used by Hardy. 4 Max Gate, Dorchester Hardy film and 5 TV locations The landscape of West Dorset is entwined with Hardy's novels and with much of it remaining unchanged, it is not surprising that several film and TV adaptations of his novels have been actually filmed in the area. The ITV adaptation of The Mayor of Casterbridge screened in 2003 and starring Ciaran Hinds and Jodhi May was filmed at locations including Maiden Castle, Cerne Abbas and Charmouth. Some of the filming for the 1998 ITV production of Tess of the d'Urbervilles took place in Cerne Abbas and Minterne Gardens. The 1967 film adaptation of Far from the Madding Crowd starring Alan Bates and Julie Christie used 6 locations including Maiden Castle, Max Gate and the wedding scene was filmed in the 14th Century Tithe Barn at Abbotsbury. 7 5 Maiden Castle, Dorchester 6 Abbotsbury © Afffinity Image Library 7 Filming of the 1998 ITV production Tess of the d'Urbervilles in Cerne Abbas © ITV Pictures 8 Juliet Aubrey (Susan) Ciaran Hinds (Michael Henchard) in The Mayor of Casterbridge Mayor of Casterbridge: © Sally Head Productions Melbury Osmond Great and Kings Hintock Puddletown Weatherbury This quiet and unspoilt village is where Hardy's parents were Nestling in the Piddle Valley, surrounded by rolling hills and woodland, lies Follow the married in 1839 and the marriage certificate can be seen Puddletown. Hardy's grandfather and great-grandfather came from the village, framed on the wall in the church.At the northern end of the as did other relations. The church is memorable for its fine west gallery, home footpath through the churchyard, is a thatched house where to a long tradition of music making which Hardy celebrated in Under the Hardy's mother is thought to have lived as a child. Several Greenwood Tree. Fanny Robin was buried in the churchyard and Troy sheltered short stories including A Changed Man and Interlopers at the from the rain in the church porch in Far from the Madding Crowd. Hardy Trail Knap are set in the village and the church features in the final scene of The Woodlanders, where Marty South is a solitary loyal figure at Giles Winterborne's grave. Athelhampton Athelhall Follow the Hardy Trail and discover Hardy's Wessex Sherborne Sherton Abbas A magnificent manor house dating from Melbury Bubb Little Hintock Located to the north of Dorset, this historic town the 15th Century with award winning for yourself. The map below shows a trail linking the This tiny village is sheltered by a wooded area and Bubb nestles in green valleys and wooded hills. It is a gardens. Thomas Hardy's father, a key sites mentioned in the text, but you can pick it up Down.The wooded area is reminiscent of how the region fascinating town with many ancient and beautiful builder, was involved in restoration or leave it at any point. The trail does not follow an would have looked in the 19th Century. In The Woodlanders, buildings.The market place is where Giles Winterborne works to the Great Hall and West Wing Little Hintock is described as "such a little small place that, as a stood with his sample apple trees in The Woodlanders and roofs in the 19th Century. It was actual road route so please refer to the appropriate town gentleman, you'd need to have a candle and lantern to find it today markets are still held in the town on Thursdays during these times that Hardy himself OS maps for West Dorset if you wish to walk, cycle if ye don't know where 'tis".All the dwellings of Little Hintock and Saturdays.The magnificent 15th Century Sherborne first visited Athelhampton and at the are fictional but the setting closely resembles the villages of Abbey is where Giles Winterborne and Grace Melbury age of 19 he painted a watercolour of or drive between locations. Melbury Bubb and Stockwood. walked and talked of their future in The Woodlanders. the south front with the gatehouse (demolished in 1862). He was also Evershot Evershead Cerne Abbas Abbot's Cernel lunching at Athelhampton with Alfred An interesting village in which little has changed since Hardy's A quintessentially English village lying in the valley of the Cart de Lafontaine when news broke Beaminster Emminster time. In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, on her journey to and from River Cerne and famous for its 180 foot hill-side giant that World War I had been declared. Emminster,Tess stops for refreshments at a cottage which is carved into the chalk as well as its ruined Abbey.The located west of the church and that is named after her.The great barn in Far from the Madding Crowd owes some of The Church of St John's,Athelhampton A prosperous market town which was built whilst Hardy was working once thrived from woolcloth and 'Sow and Acorn' (Acorn Inn) is mentioned in both A Group of its architectural features to the ancient tithe-barn in the Noble Dames and Interlopers at the Knap. village. with the Dorchester architect John sailcloth.The town was much loved Hicks and Hardy's cousin worked at the school opposite. Hardy's short by Hardy, describing it as "the hill- A30 story The Waiting Supper is set in the house and grounds, the poem The A3088 SHERBORNE surrounded little town" with "the Tudor A303 i Children and Sir Nameless refers to the tombs of the Martyns who built church-tower of red stone" in Tess of A356 North Wootton Athelhampton in 1485 and he also wrote a sad poem The Dame of Bradford Folke the d'Urbervilles. A30 A3030 Sturminster Abbas Newton Athelhall. Athelhampton House and gardens are open to the public. A357 www.athelhampton.co.uk Tel:01305 848363 Yetminster Misterton Blandford Melbury Osmond Forum Bridport Port Bredy Hermitage B3162 A vibrant and colourful town with a long history, once renowned as the centre Mosterton Corscombe Melbury Bubb Batcombe Hill Evershot High Stoy Bere Regis Kingsbere-sub-Greenhill of the country's rope and net-making industry.The town was the setting for Buckland Bulbarrow Newton This ancient village was described by Hardy as "the decayed old town" in Far the story Fellow Townsmen in which the Town Hall, St Mary's Church,The Black A358 Pilsdon Pen Broadwindsor A37 Hill Fort B3163 from the Madding Crowd.The annual sheep fair was colourfully described as "the Bull Hotel and the flax and rope-making industries all feature.A mile south of Cerne Abbas A354 BEAMINSTER B3143 Plush busiest, merriest, noisiest" of them all.The village was also the home of the the town is West Bay, the "little haven, seemingly a beginning made by Nature Cattistock A352 d'Urberville family in Tess of the d'Urbervilles based on the real life family of the herself of a perfect habour".