Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...
and is located on the outskirts of
Dorchester, Dorset
Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome to the south of the Dorset Dow ...
, England. It was designed and built by Thomas Hardy for his own use in 1885 and he lived there until his death in 1928. In 1940 it was bequeathed to the
National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
by Hardy's sister and is now open to the public. It was designated as a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
on 8 May 1970.
Description
The house is a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
, having been so designated since 8 May 1970. It was designed by Thomas Hardy and built out of red brick in 1885 in Queen Anne style. The architecture is more similar to country houses designed by
Philip Webb
Philip Speakman Webb (12 January 1831 – 17 April 1915) was a British architect and designer sometimes called the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. His use of vernacular architecture demonstrated his commitment to "the art of common ...
rather than those designed by
Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...
.
Thomas Hardy had purchased one and a half acres of land to build the house and was delighted to find Roman relics on the land. The building work was done by his father, who was a builder, and his brother. The name of the house was a pun on the name of a nearby toll-house known as "Mack's Gate" after a previous gate-keeper, Henry Mack. Originally Hardy's house had two rooms downstairs with two rooms above, but Hardy soon found this insufficient for his needs and the house was expanded in 1895, with further additions following. He used three different rooms as studies at different periods of his life. Wanting privacy, Hardy planted a thousand pine trees round the house as a windbreak. In time these grew so vigorously that the house was rendered dark and gloomy, and his second wife, Florence, removed them after his death.
History
Hardy designed and lived in Max Gate from 1885 until his death in 1928. He lived there with his first wife Emma, and then with his second wife
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
. It was there that he wrote ''
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
''Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman'' is the twelfth published novel by English author Thomas Hardy. It initially appeared in a Book censorship, censored and Serialized novel, serialised version, published by the British illustrated newsp ...
'', ''
Jude the Obscure
''Jude the Obscure'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy which began as a magazine serial in December 1894 and was first published in book form in 1895 (though the title page says 1896). The protagonist, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man; he i ...
'' and ''
The Mayor of Casterbridge
''The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character'' is an 1886 novel by the English author Thomas Hardy. One of Thomas Hardy's Wessex, Hardy's Wessex novels, it is set in a fictional rural England with Casterbridge standing ...
'', as well as much of his
poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
.
In 1940, Hardy's sister Kate left the house to the
National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
with the stipulation that it should be lived in. The house has been continually occupied since then. It was first opened to the public in 1994 with restricted access and limited opening times for a few days a week. Beginning in 2011 the National Trust opened all three floors of the house to the public five days a week (from March to October), allowing access to the hall, drawing room, two studies, the dining room and the kitchen. In 2013 two bedrooms were also opened up for the first time, including the room where Thomas Hardy wrote the ''Mayor of Casterbridge'' and where he died. The house contains several pieces of Hardy's
furniture
Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...
, although his study has been relocated to the
Dorset Museum
The Dorset Museum (also known as the Dorset Museum & Art Gallery) is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. It was known as the Dorset County Museum until 2021. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset's history and environment. ...
.
Neolithic archaeology
Half of the 100m diameter
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
interrupted ditch enclosure known as
Flagstones
Flagstone (flag) is a generic flat stone, sometimes cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, flooring, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other con ...
is under the grounds of Max Gate; the other half was archaeologically excavated in 1987 prior to the construction of the Dorchester bypass.Roland J C Smith, 1997, ''Excavations along the Route of the Dorchester Bypass, Dorset''
Wessex Archaeology
Wessex Archaeology is a British company that provides archaeological and heritage services, as well as being an educational charity. Apart from advice and consultancy, it also does fieldwork and publishes research on the sites it surveys. The com ...