Description
Hardy's House, Max Gate, an austere but sophisticated town house a short walk from the town centre of Dorchester, was the home of Dorset's most famous author and poet Thomas Hardy. Hardy, who designed the house in 1885, wanted to show that he was part of the wealthy middle classes of the area, to reflect his position as a successful writer, and to enable him to enter polite society.
The house was named after a nearby tollgate keeper called Henry Mack. The tollgate was known locally as ‘Mack’s Gate’, which Hardy then used with a different spelling when he named his house, ‘Max Gate’. Many of Hardy's possessions were dispersed before we acquired the house, but we've furnished the rooms for you to enjoy the spaces he created to write and live in. He wrote some of his most famous novels here, including Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure, as well as much of his poetry.
Price starts from £12.10 for Adults(18 years and over), £6.10 for Children(5-17 & under 5s free) and £18.20 for Family(1 adult & 3 children). If you are looking for Best place for day out with kids and families then this is the perfect destination offering fun, adventure, and unforgettable memories for everyone.
Thomas Hardy's Poetry: 'The Going' is a wonderful elegy written soon after the death of Thomas Hardy's first wife, Emma, on 27 November, 1912. The poem tells us so much about the complex emotions that Hardy felt following the death of Emma: his overwhelming sense of loss; his regret for their long estrangement; his sense of guilt, no doubt prompted by her accusatory diaries found after her death; and his sense of irritation that she had taken herself off with no warning.
For more information please visit: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/dorset/hardys-house-max-gate/hardys-poetry-the-going
3.06 miles
