Thomas Hardy's Wessex
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
author Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
set all of his major novels in the south and southwest
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He named the area "Wessex" after the medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
that existed in this part of that country prior to the Norman Conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
. Although the places that appear in his novels actually exist, in many cases he gave the place a fictional name. For example, Hardy's hometown of Dorchester is called Casterbridge in his books, most famously in The Mayor of Casterbridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge , subtitled "The Life and Death of a Man of Character", is a tragic novel by British author Thomas Hardy. It is set in the fictional town of Casterbridge . The book is one of Hardy's Wessex novels, all set in a fictional rustic England...
. In an 1895 preface to the novel Far From the Madding Crowd
Far from the Madding Crowd
Far from the Madding Crowd is Thomas Hardy's fourth novel and his first major literary success. It originally appeared anonymously as a monthly serial in Cornhill Magazine, where it gained a wide readership. Critical notices were plentiful and mostly positive...
he described Wessex as "a merely realistic dream country".
The actual definition of "Hardy's Wessex" varied widely throughout Hardy's career, and was not definitively settled until after he had retired from writing novels. When he first created the concept of a fictional Wessex, it consisted merely of the small area of Dorset in which Hardy grew up; by the time he wrote Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure, the last of Thomas Hardy's novels, began as a magazine serial and was first published in book form in 1895. The book was burned publicly by William Walsham How, Bishop of Wakefield, in that same year. Its hero, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man who dreams of becoming a...
, the boundaries had extended to include all of Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon, Hampshire, much of Berkshire, and some of Oxfordshire, with its most north-easterly point being Oxford (renamed "Christminster" in the novel). Similarly, the actual nature and significance of ideas of "Wessex" were developed over a long series of novels through a lengthy period of time. The idea of Wessex plays an important artistic role in Hardy's works (particularly his later novels), assisting the presentation of themes of progress, primitivism, sexuality, religion, nature, and naturalism; however, this is complicated by the economic role Wessex played in Hardy's career. Considering himself primarily to be a poet, Hardy wrote novels mostly to earn money: books that could be marketed under the Hardy brand of "Wessex novels" were particularly lucrative, which gave rise to a tendency to sentimentalised, picturesque, populist descriptions of Wessex - which, as a glance through most tourist giftshops in the south-west will reveal, remain popular with consumers today.
Hardy's resurrection of the name "Wessex" is largely responsible for the popular modern use of the term to describe the south-west region of England (with the exception of Cornwall); today, a panoply of organisations take their name from Hardy to describe their relationship to this area. Hardy's conception of Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
as a separate, cohesive geographical and political identity has proved powerful, despite the fact it was originally created purely as an artistic conceit, and has spawned a lucrative tourist trade, and even a secessionist Wessex Regionalist Party
Wessex Regionalist Party
The Wessex Regionalist Party is a minor political party in the United Kingdom, that seeks a degree of legislative and administrative home rule for Wessex, an area in the south and south-west of England, loosely based on the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of that name...
.
Wessex regions and actual English counties
| Region of Wessex | Actual English County | Position on Map |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Wessex | Devon Devon Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with... |
9 |
| Mid Wessex | Wiltshire Wiltshire Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers... |
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| North Wessex | Berkshire Berkshire Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and... |
2 |
| Outer Wessex | Somerset Somerset The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the... |
30 |
| South Wessex | Dorset Dorset Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974... |
10 |
| Upper Wessex | Hampshire Hampshire Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force... |
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(Note: The Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, although today a separate administrative county, was considered to be a part of the county of Hampshire - and thus Upper Wessex - during Thomas Hardy's lifetime)
Key to references for the place name table
The abbreviations for Thomas Hardy's novels that are used in the table are as follows:- UtGT - Under the Greenwood TreeUnder the Greenwood TreeUnder the Greenwood Tree or The Mellstock Quire: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published anonymously in 1872. It was Hardy's second published novel, the last to be printed without his name, and the first of his great series of Wessex novels...
(1872) - PoBE - A Pair of Blue EyesA Pair of Blue EyesA Pair of Blue Eyes is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1873.The book describes the love triangle of a young woman, Elfride Swancourt, and her two suitors from very different backgrounds. Stephen Smith is a socially inferior but ambitious young man who adores her and with whom she shares a...
(1873) - FftMC - Far from the Madding CrowdFar from the Madding CrowdFar from the Madding Crowd is Thomas Hardy's fourth novel and his first major literary success. It originally appeared anonymously as a monthly serial in Cornhill Magazine, where it gained a wide readership. Critical notices were plentiful and mostly positive...
(1874) - RotN - The Return of the NativeThe Return of the NativeThe Return of the Native is Thomas Hardy's sixth published novel. It first appeared in the magazine Belgravia, a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly installments from January to December 1878...
(1878) - MoC - The Mayor of CasterbridgeThe Mayor of CasterbridgeThe Mayor of Casterbridge , subtitled "The Life and Death of a Man of Character", is a tragic novel by British author Thomas Hardy. It is set in the fictional town of Casterbridge . The book is one of Hardy's Wessex novels, all set in a fictional rustic England...
(1886) - TM - The Trumpet-MajorThe Trumpet-MajorThe Trumpet-Major is a novel by Thomas Hardy published in 1880.The heroine, Anne Garland, is pursued by three suitors: John Loveday, the trumpet major in a British regiment, honest and loyal; his brother Bob, a flighty sailor; and Festus Derriman, the cowardly nephew of the local squire.The setting...
(1880) - W - The WoodlandersThe WoodlandersThe Woodlanders is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It was published in 1887.-Plot summary:The story takes place in a small woodland village called Little Hintock, and concerns the efforts of an honest woodsman, Giles Winterborne, to marry his childhood sweetheart, Grace Melbury...
(1887) - WT - Wessex TalesWessex TalesWessex Tales is an 1888 collection of tales written by Thomas Hardy, many of which are set before Hardy's birth in 1840.Through them, Thomas Hardy talks about nineteenth century marriage, grammar, class status, how men and women were viewed, medical diseases and more.-Contents:In 1888, Wessex Tales...
(1888) - TotD - Tess of the D'UrbervillesTess of the d'UrbervillesTess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, also known as Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman, Tess of the d'Urbervilles or just Tess, is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1891. It initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British...
(1891) - JtO – Jude the ObscureJude the ObscureJude the Obscure, the last of Thomas Hardy's novels, began as a magazine serial and was first published in book form in 1895. The book was burned publicly by William Walsham How, Bishop of Wakefield, in that same year. Its hero, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man who dreams of becoming a...
(1895)
Table of Wessex place-names, their actual places, and their appearance in Hardy's novels
| Wessex Name | Region of Wessex | Actual Name | Cerne Abbas Cerne Abbas Cerne Abbas is a village located in the valley of the River Cerne, between steep chalk downland in central Dorset, England. The village is located just to the east of the A352 road north of Dorchester. There was a population of 732 at the 2001 census, a figure which has fallen from 780 in 1998.In... | |
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| Abbotsea | South Wessex | Abbotsbury Abbotsbury Abbotsbury is a large village and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset, England; situated north-west of Weymouth. It is located from Upwey railway station and from Bournemouth International Airport. The main road running through the village is the B3157, connecting Abbotsbury to... |
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| Aldbrickham | North Wessex | Reading Reading, Berkshire Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London.... |
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| Alfredston | North Wessex | Wantage Wantage Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot.... |
Jude Fawley becomes a mason's apprentice there. It is also where he works following his marriage to Arabella Donn. (JtO) | |
| Anglebury | South Wessex | Wareham Wareham, Dorset Wareham is an historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles southwest of Poole.-Situation and geography:... |
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| Bramhurst | West Wessex | Lyndhurst Lyndhurst Lyndhurst may refer to:United Kingdom* Lyndhurst, HampshireUnited States* Lyndhurst, New Jersey* Lyndhurst, Ohio* Lyndhurst, Virginia* Lyndhurst, Wisconsin* Lyndhurst , New YorkAustralia* Lyndhurst, Victoria... |
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| Budmouth | South Wessex | Weymouth | Where Frank Troy goes to gamble on horse races. (FftMC) Eustacia Vye's hometown (RotN) |
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| Casterbridge | South Wessex | Dorchester | Where Rhoda and Farmer Lodge's son is hanged. The Withered Arm. Also the principal location of the Mayor Casterbridge(WT) | |
| Chalk Newton | South Wessex | Maiden Newton Maiden Newton Maiden Newton is a village and civil parish in west Dorset, England, north of Dorchester. Located on the River Frome, the village has a population of 952 , of whom 29.7% are retired. Maiden Newton railway station, which serves the village, is situated on the Heart of Wessex Line... |
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| Chaseborough | South Wessex | Cranborne Cranborne Cranborne is a village in East Dorset, England. In 2001 the village had a population of 779 people. The town is situated on chalk downland called Cranborne Chase, part of a large expanse of chalk in southern England which includes the nearby Salisbury Plain and Dorset Downs.-History:The village... |
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| Christminster | North Wessex - although Christminster is technically not within the borders of Hardy's Wessex, as it is located to the north of the River Thames River Thames The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,... , he describes it in Jude the Obscure Jude the Obscure Jude the Obscure, the last of Thomas Hardy's novels, began as a magazine serial and was first published in book form in 1895. The book was burned publicly by William Walsham How, Bishop of Wakefield, in that same year. Its hero, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man who dreams of becoming a... as being "within hail of the Wessex border, and almost with the tip of one small toe within it" |
Oxford Oxford The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through... |
This is where Jude Fawley goes to become a scholar, and is advised to give up his career choice. Sue Bridehead works in a shop which produces religious artifacts there, meets her cousin, and is thrown from her lodgings. (JtO) | |
| Cliff Martin | Outer Wessex | Combe Martin Combe Martin Combe Martin is a village and civil parish on the North Devon coast about east of Ilfracombe. It is a small seaside resort with a sheltered cove on the edge of the Exmoor National Park... |
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| Cresscombe | North Wessex | Letcombe Bassett Letcombe Bassett Letcombe Bassett is a village and civil parish about southwest of the market town of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire.... |
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| Downstaple | Lower Wessex | Barnstaple Barnstaple Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the... |
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| Durnover | South Wessex | Fordington Fordington, Dorset Fordington is a part of the town of Dorchester, Dorset; originally a separate village, it has now become a suburb. Taking its name from a ford across the River Frome, it grew up around the church of St. George , though the parish was much larger and surrounded Dorchester on three sides... |
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| Emminster | South Wessex | Beaminster Beaminster Beaminster is a small town and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, at the head of the valley of the River Brit. Beaminster is south of Bristol, west of Bournemouth, east of Exeter and northwest of the county town of Dorchester... |
The home of Angel Clare, and the site of Clare's father's vicarage. (TotD) | |
| Evershead | South Wessex | Evershot Evershot Evershot is a village in west Dorset, England, south of Yeovil. It is the second highest village in the county , the centre of the village lying at 175 metres above sea-level. The village has a population of 206... |
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| Exonbury | Lower Wessex | Exeter Exeter Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the... |
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| Falls Park | Outer Wessex | Mells Park Mells, Somerset Mells is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, near the town of Frome.The parish includes the village of Vobster which had a coal mine of the same name on the Somerset coalfield and quarry, both of which are now disused. The old quarry is now used as a diving centre... |
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| Fountall | Outer Wessex | Wells Wells Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406, it has had city status since 1205... |
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| Havenpool | South Wessex | Poole Poole Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council... |
Newson landed here on his return from Newfoundland. (MoC) | |
| Isle of Slingers | South Wessex | Isle of Portland Isle of Portland The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and... |
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| Ivell | Outer Wessex | Yeovil Yeovil Yeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140... |
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| Kennetbridge | North Wessex | Newbury Newbury, Berkshire Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF... |
"A thriving town not more than a dozen miles south of Marygreen" (JtO) between Melchester and Christminster. The main road (A338) from Oxford Oxford The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through... to Salisbury Salisbury Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county... runs past Fawley Fawley, Berkshire Fawley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It is more properly called North or Great Fawley to distinguish it from South or Little Fawley, lower down the parish.... and through Hungerford Hungerford Hungerford is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 9 miles west of Newbury. It covers an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 5,559 .- Geography :... , which may be Kennetbridge instead of Newbury Newbury, Berkshire Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF... , which is to the south-east of Fawley. |
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| Kingsbere | South Wessex | Bere Regis Bere Regis Bere Regis is a village in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England, situated north-west of Wareham.The village has one shop, a post office and two pubs, The Royal Oak and The Drax Arms. The parish church is St. John the Baptist Church... |
Here is situated the Church of the d'Urbervilles. After Tess' Father's death, the Durbeyfield family take refuge outside the chapel. | |
| Knollsea | South Wessex | Swanage Swanage Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,... |
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| Lulwind Cove | South Wessex | Lulworth Cove Lulworth Cove Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in Dorset, southern England. The cove is one of the world's finest examples of such a landform, and is a tourist location with over 1 million visitors a year... |
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| Lumsdon | North Wessex | Cumnor Cumnor Cumnor is a village and civil parish west of the centre of Oxford, England. The parish of Cumnor includes Cumnor Hill, , Chawley , the Dean Court area on the edge of Botley and the outlying settlements of Chilswell, Farmoor and Swinford... |
It is there that Jude Fawley meets up with his old teacher Mr. Phillotson again. It is where Sue Bridehead starts to work as a teacher and promises herself in marriage to Mr. Phillotson. (JtO) | |
| Marlott | South Wessex | Marnhull Marnhull Marnhull is a village in the Blackmore Vale area of north Dorset, England. It is north of Sturminster Newton, between Shaftesbury and Sherborne and about north of Bournemouth and Weymouth... |
Tess Durbeyfield is born and brought up there. After becoming pregnant by Alec D'Urberville she returns to the village and gives birth to a baby boy, who dies in his infancy. (TotD) | |
| Marygreen | North Wessex | Fawley Fawley Fawley is a place name that is used more than once in the United Kingdom. In each case, the origins of the name are different:* Fawley, Berkshire * South Fawley, sometimes called Little Fawley... |
Drusilla Fawley runs a bakery there. It is the place where Sue Bridehead spent her childhood. Jude Fawley is brought there following the death of his father, and it is where he matures into a man. (JtO) | |
| Melchester | Mid Wessex | Salisbury Salisbury Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county... |
This is the place where Jude goes to prepare himself for the ministry, and where Sue Bridehead is studying to become a teacher. The latter runs away from her school there, and later marries Mr. Phillotson in the town. (JtO) | |
| Mellstock | South Wessex | Stinsford Stinsford Stinsford is a village in south west Dorset, England, one mile east of Dorchester. The village has a population of 346 , 13.5% of dwellings are second homes .... and Higher & Lower Bockhampton Bockhampton Bockhampton is the name of several villages in England, mainly in Dorset:*Bockhampton, Berkshire, an area of Lambourn.*Higher Bockhampton, Dorset, birthplace of Thomas Hardy, and site of Thomas Hardy's Cottage*Middle Bockhampton, Dorset... |
Thomas Hardy's birthplace. Hardy's heart is also buried here, next to his first wife, Emma. Jude Fawley's father died there. (JtO) Nearly all of Under the Greenwood Tree Under the Greenwood Tree Under the Greenwood Tree or The Mellstock Quire: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published anonymously in 1872. It was Hardy's second published novel, the last to be printed without his name, and the first of his great series of Wessex novels... is set in Mellstock. |
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| Overcombe | South Wessex | Sutton Poyntz | The Trumpet-Major | |
| Port Bredy | South Wessex | Bridport Bridport Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. Located near the coast at the western end of Chesil Beach at the confluence of the River Brit and its Asker and Simene tributaries, it originally thrived as a fishing port and rope-making centre... |
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| Po'sham | South Wessex | Portesham Portesham Portesham is a village in the English county of Dorset, situated close to the south coast, between the towns of Weymouth and Dorchester. The village has a population of 708... |
The home of Captain Thomas Hardy, one of Lord Nelson's commanders at the Battle of Trafalgar, who lived at Portesham House. (TM) | |
| Quartershot | Upper Wessex | Aldershot Aldershot Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council... |
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| Sandbourne | Upper Wessex | Bournemouth Bournemouth Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth... |
This is the place where Tess Durbeyfield lives with Alec D'Urberville as his mistress, and where she murders him upon the return of her husband, Angel Clare. (TotD). It is also the place where Sue Bridehead's freethinking Freethought Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas... friend was buried, and where she was the only mourner at his funeral. (JtO) |
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| Shaston | South Wessex | Shaftesbury Shaftesbury Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset... |
Jack Durbeyfield visits the doctor in Shaston and learns that he has a bad heart. (TotD). Mr. Phillotson moves there in order to run a school. Jude Fawley travels there to see Sue Bridehead, who, married to Mr. Phillotson, is working in the town, and they flee the place together. (JtO) | |
| Sherton Abbas | South Wessex | Sherborne Sherborne Sherborne is a market town in northwest Dorset, England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. The population of the town is 9,350 . 27.1% of the population is aged 65 or... |
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| Slingers | South Wessex | Isle of Portland Isle of Portland The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and... |
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| Solentsea | Upper Wessex | Southsea Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre.... |
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| Stancy Castle | Outer Wessex | Dunster Castle Dunster Castle Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period. After the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century,... |
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| Stoke Barehills | Upper Wessex | Basingstoke Basingstoke Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of... |
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| Street of Wells | South Wessex | Fortuneswell | ||
| Toneborough | Outer Wessex | Taunton Taunton Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset.... |
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| Trantridge | South Wessex | Pentridge Pentridge Pentridge is a village in north east Dorset, England, situated on Cranborne Chase on the A354 road ten miles north east of Blandford Forum and twelve miles south west of Salisbury. The village has a population of 215... |
Site of the D'Urberville estate. | |
| Weydon-Priors | Upper Wessex | Weyhill Weyhill Weyhill is a village, three miles west of Andover, Hampshire. Within it there is a church, a nursing home, a pub and an historic Fairground site that houses a number of craft studios, a Village Hall and a Tearoom... |
It is there that Michael Henchard sells his wife while he is drunk. (MoC) | |
| Wintoncester | South Wessex | Winchester Winchester Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of... |
Tess Durbeyfield is imprisoned and executed in this former capital of Wessex. (TotD) | |
Hardy's Wessex in art and books
Artists such as Walter TyndaleWalter Tyndale
Walter Frederick Roofe Tyndale was an English watercolour painter of landscapes, architecture and street scenes, book illustrator and travel writer.-Life as an artist:...
, Edmund Hort New
Edmund Hort New
Edmund Hort New was an English artist, member of the Birmingham Group, and leading illustrator of his day.-Life and work:New was born in Evesham Worcestershire, a cousin of Thomas New. He studied at the Birmingham Municipal School of Art under Edward R. Taylor and A. J...
, Charles George Harper
Charles George Harper
Charles George Harper was an English author and illustrator. Born in London, England, Harper wrote many self-illustrated travel books, exploring the regions, roads, coastlines, literary connections, old inns etc. of Britain....
, and others, have painted or drawn the landscapes, places and buildings described in Hardy's novels. Their work was used to illustrate books exploring the real-life countryside on which the fictional county of Wessex was based:
- B. C. A. Windle & E. H. NewEdmund Hort NewEdmund Hort New was an English artist, member of the Birmingham Group, and leading illustrator of his day.-Life and work:New was born in Evesham Worcestershire, a cousin of Thomas New. He studied at the Birmingham Municipal School of Art under Edward R. Taylor and A. J...
(ill.). The Wessex of Thomas Hardy (London, New York, J. Lane, 1902). - Charles G. HarperCharles George HarperCharles George Harper was an English author and illustrator. Born in London, England, Harper wrote many self-illustrated travel books, exploring the regions, roads, coastlines, literary connections, old inns etc. of Britain....
. The Hardy country; literary landmarks of the Wessex novels (London, A. & C. Black, 1904). - Clive Holland. Wessex (A & C Black, 1906).
- Sidney HeathSidney HeathSidney Heath was a notable English landscape artist, illustrator and author of books on local topography, history and architecture. He specialised in drawings of old buildings....
.The Heart of Wessex (Blackie & Son, 1910?). - Charles G. Harper. Wessex ("Beautiful Britain", London: A. & C. Black, 1911).
- Hermann Lea. Thomas Hardy's Wessex (London, Macmillan and co. 1911).
- Walter TyndaleWalter TyndaleWalter Frederick Roofe Tyndale was an English watercolour painter of landscapes, architecture and street scenes, book illustrator and travel writer.-Life as an artist:...
. Hardy country water-colours (A & C Black, 19??). - R. Thurston Hopkins & E. Harries (ill.). Thomas Hardy's Dorset (New York: D. Appleton and co. 1922).
External links
- Thomas Hardy's Wessex Research site, including maps, by Dr Birgit Plietzsch