Walking in Thomas Hardy's Footsteps
Introduction
There are more publications and articles about the life and work of Thomas Hardy than you can shake a stick at and many people have identified scenes and locations in his works with modern day places. It seems he drew heavily on his life experiences to frame his novels and poems. But even the ardent reader may not realise the potential for journeying where Hardy trod, and the walking routes that are possible today. It was through correspondence with Huelyn & Ginny Lewis of Pelican Studio, Looe, that I became aware of Hardy's connection with Cornwall. Their publication, "In The Footsteps of Thomas & Emma Hardy" is a gem......... nay, a diamond, for those interested in Hardy and in walking. It is so concise and handy to carry with you. In the first 26 pages their book gives a precis of his and his wife's life, and the remainder of the book goes on to describe a walk from Boscastle along the coast (following the South West Coastal path) before turning inland to St. Juliot. The walk continues down the Valency Valley back to Boscastle Harbour. My notes on the Cornwall connection of Thomas Hardy draw heavily on the writings of Huelyn & Ginny Lewis.
Thomas Hardy was born in Higher Bockhampton, near Dorset in 1840, his family being in the building trade. At the age of 16 he became apprenticed to John Hicks, a well respected local architect. He moved to London in 1842 and whilst working for another architect, Arthur Bloomfield, there he began to write. Life was tough in London in comparison to his home town and after five years Hardy returned to Dorchester to work again for his former mentor, John Hicks. Hicks died in 1869 and the practice as taken over by G. R. Crickmay. It was Crickmay who put Hardy in charge of overseeing church restorations, and it was this that led him to travel to Cornwall in 1870 to survey the church at St. Juliot. He travelled by train from Dorchester to Launceston on 7th March 1870 and then by pony and trap across Bodmin Moor to St. Juliot Rectory. The rector, the Rev. Caddell Holder was ill in bed, and Hardy was met by his sister-in-law, Emma Lavinia Gifford. Hardy recalled meeting "a woman in brown" indicating that he was not overly taken by Emma initially; she, on the other hand, viewed Hardy as the man of her dreams! Hardy completed his survey of the church the following day, but instead of returning immediately to Dorchester, he decided to stay until the end of the week. In Heulyn & Ginny's words "There is little doubt that the pair were in love by the end of this first brief visit to the Rectory in 1870", and that they may have parted with a kiss". Hardy returned to St. Juliot in August 1870 and the relationship between them grew deeper. They explored together many of the locations associated with this walk.
Hardy visited Cornwall again in May and October 1871 and in August 1872. The latter visit was with the intention of asking Emma's father, John Attersoll Giffard, for her hand in marriage. The snobbish Giffard disliked Hardy, referring to him as a "low born churl". Nevertheless Thomas and Emma were married at St. Peter's Paddington. Their service was conducted by the Canon of Worcester, her uncle, and she was given away by her brother Walter. No other members of the Giffard or Hardy families were present. They never returned to Cornwall as a couple, living in either London or Dorset. |
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Thomas Hardy 1840-1928 |
Emma Livinia Gifford 1840-1912 |
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The first walk from Boscastle is along the coast to Penally Hill, Pentargon, Hillsborough, Beeny Cliff and then inland via Middle Beeny to St. Julitta's Church visits places familiar to Thomas and Emma.
Thomas and Emma finally settled in Dorset and had a house ("Max Gate") built there. They lived increasingly separate lives with Emma becoming depressed and retiring to the attic of Max Gate. She died in November 1912, and was buried at Stinsford Church near Dorchester on 30th November 1912.
Hardy suffered grief and remorse after Emma's death, and in March 1913 he returned to St. Juliot in an attempt to rekindle the loving memories of Emma. In a poem of 1913, "The Phantom Horsewoman" he recalls his feelings of the rugged north Cornwall coast and the love he found there.
A ghost-girl-rider
And though, toil-tired
He withers daily
Time touches her not,
But she still rides gaily
In his rapt thought
On that shagged and shaly
Atlantic spot
And as when first eyed
Draws rein and sings to the swing of the tide
Hardy made one final visit to Cornwall in September 1916 to place a stone memorial on the north wall of St. Julitta's Church. |
Thomas Hardy died on 11th January 1927 and his ashes were interred at Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey. His heart was buried in a grave at St Michael's Church, Stinsford.
The second walk visits many of the places that played an important role in Hardy's life when he lived near Dorchester and information is courtesy of www.discoveringbritain.org.
Many of Hardy's works were "partly real, partly dream" in a fictional county called "Wessex" which was based on his experiences in the vicinity of Dorchester. This walk "Takes you through places at the heart of Hardy's Wessex including picturesque hamlets and working farms, humble cottages and grand manor houses, water meadows and heath lands, fertile fields and whispering woods" starting at Higher Bockham, three miles northeast of Dorchester. Included are Hardy's cottage, Max Gate, the American Hardy Society Monument, Bhompston Farm, Hardy's grave at St. Michael's Church, and the Old Manor House.
Of interest for future walks is "The Hardy Way". This is a long distance walk of 348 Km (216 miles) with just over 6,000 m of ascent. It is best described by the Long Distance Walking Association (ldwa.org.uk) and is described in a guidebook by Margaret Marande published in 2015. The book includes details of Hardy's references to the landscapes upon which his books were based. |
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The Hardy Way explores the Wessex of author Thomas Hardy, visiting many Hardy locations beginning at his birthplace near Dorchester. It takes in the Piddle and Frome valleys, an outstanding stretch of coast between Lulworth Cove and the Encombe Valley, to Corfe Castle and Dorchester, ending in Stinsford churchyard where his heart lies buried. The Hardy Way leads through beautiful Dorset and Wiltshire countryside: woodland, high ridgeways, sleepy villages, a variety of farmland, river valleys and dramatic coastal scenery along Dorset's famous Jurassic coast, now a World Heritage Site inscribed by UNESCO for the outstanding universal value of its rocks, fossils and landforms and England's only natural World Heritage Site The route parallels the remarkable eighteen mile pebble Chesil Bank from near Bridport to the Isle of Portland, a gigantic limestone mass near Weymouth.
In 1998, at an opening ceremony at Max Gate, the Way became a county footpath and, with the help of the Ramblers Association, was waymarked with distinctive green and white discs.
The Hardy Way is mainly on footpaths, tracks and bridleways with occasional unavoidable sections on lanes and roads. The Blackmore Vale farmland area in north Dorset can be very muddy in wet weather. Between Beaminster and West Bay through Bridport, the Way is mainly coincident with the waymarked Brit Valley Way
Courtesy of ldwa.org.uk |
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Essential Reading
ISBN 978-0-9572340-1-7
2015 3rd Edition 96 pp
Website: www.pelicanstudio.co.uk
Email: pelicanstudioinfo@gmail.com
The Hardy Way - A 19th Century Pilgrimage
by Margaret Marande (2015)
212pp
ISBN 9780993162800
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