Merry Christmas from the Thomas Hardy Archive!

This Christmas, Project Archivist Ruth Burton and National Trust Intern Emma Allen-White have been looking for all things festive in the Thomas Hardy archive.

In Under the Greenwood Tree, Thomas Hardy wrote one of the most vivid and evocative descriptions of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in fiction. The book begins:

‘On a cold and starry Christmas-eve less than a generation ago’

when the Mellstock parish choir meet to practice the carols which they will perform outside each house of the village and surrounding hamlets. They set off at midnight, warmed by cider and with wisps of hay around their ankles to stop any snowflakes getting into their boots. On Christmas morning, after only a few hours sleep, some of the choir wake up to a smell of bacon, described by Hardy in a lovely domestic simile:

‘The limp rasher hung down between the bars of the gridiron like a cat in a child’s arms.’

Hardy loved bacon to be cooked in this way, and asked for it even in his final days, according to the recollections of his parlour-maid Nellie.

In Under the Greenwood Tree, Hardy drew heavily on the experiences of his father, his grandfather and his neighbours – musicians of the Stinsford parish choir. His father played the violin, and his grandfather the cello, or the bass-viol. Three of the family hand-written music books, which include carols, still survive as part of the Thomas Hardy archive. They are currently on show in Dorset Museum and a fascinating blog about them can be found here: The Hardy Family Music Manuscript Books – Dorset History Centre blog

The central importance to the Hardy family of music at Christmas is shown in a Christmas card painted by Thomas Hardy’s sister Mary, which shows three musicians (pictured above). Inside the card she has written ‘Hark, Hark the Angels on this Morn / ‘Melodious music bring’! In stark contrast, the archive also includes a Christmas sketch drawn by Hardy himself. This drawing shows a violin and a cello hanging in the study at his home Max Gate which he has dubbed ‘fiddle corner’. The title of the sketch is ‘Silent Christmas voices’ and suggests a quieter and different kind of Christmas. The picture is dated Christmas Eve 1905. Hardy’s father had died over a decade previously, but his mother’s death had occurred just the previous year.

Max Gate was chosen as the subject for several Christmas cards by Thomas Hardy and his second wife Florence. Their 1923 card shows the Hardys’ adored dog Wessex just outside the porch door, and Wessex also features in the card for 1926 where he is perhaps superintending the arrival or departure of the postman, who he was known to bite.

The 1926 card featured here is addressed to Nellie – the parlour maid mentioned above whose full name was Ellen Titterington. Nellie did not recall Christmas at Max Gate fondly. She remembered the cook refusing to take her Christmas bonus from the table where it had been left until Mr and Mrs Hardy had put more money in it! Other visitors to Max Gate had nicer memories. The Parson from St Peter’s church remembered carol singers from the choir being refreshed with warm drinks and biscuits while Hardy told them about his interest in music, and proudly showed them his grandfather’s cello.

One further item in the archive seems to be a draft Christmas card drawn by Hardy himself. There are papers in the archive dated to 1927 which relate to research about installing a sundial at Max Gate, but the date on this design is 1902, over two decades earlier. The design is also different to the sundial which was eventually added to the front of the house following Hardy’s death in 1928. Intriguingly, the card also appears to be sent only from T.H., rather than from Thomas Hardy and his wife, who in 1902 was Emma Hardy. Like many archive items the card invites more questions than it answers. If you know anything more about this item please do get in touch!

Pictures of Sundial and Christmas card by Thomas Hardy, 1902 [Dorset Museum and Art Gallery held by Dorset History Centre].

Many happy returns to you all, and we look forward to updating you with more about the Hardy cataloguing project in 2025.

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