Thomas Hardy

Hardy and the Empty Rooms Project

Last year we introduced you to Emma, who has been working alongside our Thomas Hardy Project Archivist. Since last August, Emma’s project has developed, and we wanted to give you an update… — For the last fourteen months I have been working as an intern on the Empty Rooms Project, a collaborative initiative between the… Read more Hardy and the Empty Rooms Project

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… Read more Merry Christmas from the Thomas Hardy Archive!

The Empty Rooms Project and Thomas Hardy

As part of the ongoing Thomas Hardy cataloguing project, we have been joined by Emma, an intern who is working alongside Dorset History Centre and the National Trust to unlock some of the gems hidden in the collection… — Some of you may have seen me at Dorset History Centre (DHC) if you are in… Read more The Empty Rooms Project and Thomas Hardy

‘The Departure’ – the tale of how a Hardy poem returned from America to Dorset

Dorset History Centre (DHC) has successfully acquired a poem by author Thomas Hardy which is believed to have been held in America since 2005.  ‘The Departure’ was sold that year at Sotheby’s in London.  It next appeared at an antiquarian dealership in Massachusetts where it was purchased by an American collector in 2014. More recently,… Read more ‘The Departure’ – the tale of how a Hardy poem returned from America to Dorset

The Thomas Hardy Cataloguing Project is Underway!

Hello, I’m Ruth and I began working as the Thomas Hardy Project Archivist in mid-March. I have moved down to Dorset from West Yorkshire, where I was working at Special Collections and Galleries in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. Over the next sixteen months I will be creating a detailed catalogue of… Read more The Thomas Hardy Cataloguing Project is Underway!

Dorset Authors Conservation Project

This week marks the end of the Dorset Authors Conservation Project as the final items were placed in bespoke boxes and the written report completed. Generously funded by the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust (NMCT) the Dorset Authors Project aimed to conserve items from three major literary collections: Thomas Hardy, William Barnes and Sylvia Townsend-Warner. These… Read more Dorset Authors Conservation Project

Icen Cottage – The Lock family and a Hardy connection

Welcome to the seventh part of our series exploring the history of Icen Cottage, Fordington. In previous blogs, we have introduced you to the cottage, shown you some of the earliest documents relating to the cottage, discussed some of the problems when trying to identify the people who lived in the cottage, introduced George Cull as one of… Read more Icen Cottage – The Lock family and a Hardy connection

Thomas Hardy lecture series: fundraising to open up Hardy’s archives to the wider world!

Dorset Archives Trust with the Thomas Hardy Society are promoting a series of three fascinating lectures which will examine aspects of Hardy’s life and work referencing elements of his archival legacy.  You can find details of the talks below. Hardy’s UNESCO-inscribed archive – 150 boxes of the author’s records ranging from the manuscript of The… Read more Thomas Hardy lecture series: fundraising to open up Hardy’s archives to the wider world!

The Hardy Family Music Manuscript Books

‘Times have changed from the Times they used to be; people don’t care about us much now. I’ve been thinking we must be almost the last left in the country of the old String players; Barrel-organs, and they things next door to ‘em that you blow with your foot [ Harmoniums!] have come in terrible… Read more The Hardy Family Music Manuscript Books