English Country Cottage in Hardy Country, Dorset
Middle Cottage in West Knighton near Dorchester and Jurassic Coast
Oct 16, 2009
The great English novelist and poet, Thomas Hardy, was born in the tiny village of Higher Bockhampton, about three miles north-east of Dorchester, the county town of Dorset in south-west England. His heart is buried in the neighbouring village of Stinsford, while his home in Max Gate on the edge of Dorchester is open to the public in summer. All these places can best be visited by staying in an English country cottage nearby, such as Middle Cottage in West Knighton, less than a 10-minute drive from Stinsford.
Thomas Hardy's Cottage in Dorset
Hardy was born in 1840 in what is now known as Hardy's Cottage, and run by the National Trust. It's a delightful and surprisingly large cottage, in which the author lived on and off until the age of 34. It was in his bedroom here that he wrote some of his early books including Under the Greenwood Tree and Far from the Madding Crowd. The cottage dates from 1800, when it was built by Hardy's great-grandfather, and it is close to Egdon Heath, the main setting for another of hardy's classic tales, The Return of the Native.
Hardy's Cottage still feels quite remote. There is a well signposted car park in Higher Bockhampton, but to reach the cottage involves a walk along a country road or taking an alternate route on a path through the nearby Nature Reserve. Taking this lane is like walking back in time to Hardy's day, reminding visitors that Hardy himself walked to school in Lower Bockhampton from here, and later the three miles to Dorchester where he worked as an architect.
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Later when Hardy was successful he bought the rather grander Max Gate, on Alington Avenue on the outskirts of Dorchester. That too is managed today by the National Trust, and can be visited from April to September. It was here that Hardy wrote his final and his finest novels, including Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Jude the Obscure, and The Mayor of Casterbridge. Hardy designed the house himself and lived in it from 1885 until his death in 1928.
The Dorset County Museum in Dorchester
The other must-see sight for Thomas Hardy fans in Dorchester is the Dorset County Museum. This has the largest collection of Hardy items in the world, and although it is fascinating to see his birthplace and Max Gate, there are few Hardy items in either place. The County Museum is the place to visit to see diaries, rare photographs, and a reconstruction of Hardy's study from Max Gate. Perhaps most fascinating of all are the original manuscripts of such works as The Mayor of Casterbridge, in all their meticulous hand-written detail.
Thomas Hardy's Grave in Stinsford, Dorset
When Hardy died he was honoured with a funeral in London's Westminster Abbey, and his ashes are buried there in Poets' Corner. However his heart was taken and buried in the grave of his first wife, Emma, in the churchyard at Stinsford, a couple of miles from where he was born. His heart therefore remains where it belongs, in rural Dorset, the inspiration for his finest works.
Middle Cottage in West Knighton, Dorset
Located about four miles south-east of Dorchester, the village of West Knighton is a real Dorset rural retreat. There are regular buses for anyone wanting to use public transport, and they stop a few yards from the cottage. The village's only other facility is the New Inn pub, a really friendly and typical historic English village pub, serving good value and good quality bar meals, with daily specials such as Dorset pork in cider, and seabass, lime and ginger fishcakes.
Middle Cottage is not in fact the middle cottage, being in a row of four, but it is a typical delightful Dorset thatched cob cottage, like the one Thomas Hardy was born in. The interior oozes period charm, and is delightfully decorated. Timber beams cross the ceiling, there's an Inglenook hearth with a wood-burning stove and an old bread oven next to it, yet on the other side of the hearth is the latest large-screen TV with DVD player. The kitchen has cosy orange-red tiles, and upstairs are three bedrooms: a double, a twin and a single. Outside is a lovely, big, lawned garden, surrounded by greenery and with a courtyard with a BBQ.
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Contact Details for this Hardy Country Cottage
Visit the website of Middle Cottage in West Knighton.
To find other cottages in the Dorchester area for Hardy Country visit the website of Dorset Coastal Cottages.
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Other Things to Do in Dorset
The Jurassic Coast and South-West Coast Path
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