THS Conference July 2024 at United Church, South Street, Dorchester.

The Thomas Hardy Society once again invites you to visit the home town of our beloved author to celebrate his life and work through lectures, walks, entertainment and spending time with your fellow Hardyans. We are looking forward to welcoming our international friends who have been unable to travel to England during the years of the pandemic.

Key Note Speakers will include Pamela Dalziel, Phillip Mallett, Isabelle Gadoin, Rachel Worth, Oindrilla Ghosh, Anna Burton, and Jeremy Newton. Other guest speakers include David Taylor, Jane Ashdown, Ian Gosling, and Sam Johnston. Piano Recital by Phillip Lange. Train to Wareham (Lucy Boyle-Brown), Walk to Weymouth (Byron Silver), Dorchester, Fordington (Mark Damon Chutter). There will be an open-air performance of a play concerning the life and death of Mary Channing at Maumbury Rings performed by the Wey Valley Academy and a Barn Dance with the Wessex Ceilidh Band with caller Angela Laycock.

Ticket Price:

£286 Non-Members
£260 Members
£65 Students
£35 General Admission - Day ticket - for those only attending one day

Please book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-26th-international-thomas-hardy-conference-and-festival-tickets-707749446647

THS Conference July 2024 (as of 12th April 2024) at United Church, South Street, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1BY. Unless otherwise stated all events will be held at the United Church.

Update: 19th July 2024

If you are delivering a lecture or talk or call for papers at the conference we will not be able to photocopy handouts. Please photocopy them and bring them to your lecture. Apologies.

Download a print version of the THS Conference July 2024

Saturday 27th July

From 12 noon: Registration at the United Church

12.30 pm Alban O'Brien Hardy's Cottage and Thomcombe Wood Trip

6.30 pm Welcome Dinner (Brownsword Hall, Purnmery Square, Poundbury, DTl 3GW).

8 pm Keynote: Pamela Dalziel Guest Speaker at Brownsword Hall (paper delivered by Professor Mary Rimmer)

Sunday 28th July

8.30 am Dr Tony Fincham Wessex Heights Trip

10 am Keynote: Mark Damon Chutter (Casterbridge Room, King'sArms)

1.30 pm Walk around Dorchester and Fordington in the Footsteps of Hardy with readings (Mark Damon Chutter) -meet at the Town Pump in South Street

6 pm Stinsford Evensong at St Michael's Church (DT2 8PT)

8 pm Arthur Keegan Concert 'Egdon Heath' at St Michael's Church, Stinsford

Monday 29th July

9.30 am Keynote: Phillip Mallett Guest Speaker

11 am Call for Papers 1 and 2

1.30 pm David Taylor: Subterranean Dorchester Talk

1.30 pm Dr Tony Fincham Outer Casterbridge/Ancient Earthworks Trip

3.00 pm The story of Mary Channing -talk by Mark Damon Chutter at Shire Hall (DTl 1UY)

7-8.00 pm An open-air performance of Mary Channing adapted by Mark Damon Chutter and performed by Wey Valley Academy (Maumbury Rings, WeymouthAvenue, DTl 1QZ)

Tuesday 30th July

9.30 am Keynote: Rachel Worth 'Thomas Hardy, Clothing and the Natural World' - Guest Speaker

11 am Call for Papers 3 and 4

12.30 Literary Panel: Mark Ford, Elizabeth Lowry and Arthur Keegan

1.30 pm STAND talk (JaneAshdown) and Dorchester Civic Society (Ian Gosling/Joe Doek)

1.49 pm train Byron Silver Hardy's Budmouth and the Nothe Fort (3 pm) with readings

(Dorchester South Station DTl 1GH)

8 pm Poetry in the Casterbridge Room at King's Arms, High East Street, Dorchester, DTl lHF with a three-course meal £35 (members need to book for the meal by calling 01305238238)

Wednesday 31st July

9.30 am Keynote: Jeremy Newton Guest Speaker

11 am Call for Papers 5 and 6

1 pm Talk: Jan Graham - Creating sculptures of Hardy

1.30 pm Reimagining the Hardy Tree

1.38 pm Byron Silver Bincombe and Chalbury Hillfort - depart bus from Brewery Square (DTl lGH) 1.38 pm

2 pm Rosaleen Wilson - Jude Walks

3 pm Poetry Workshop 1 with Lucy Boyle-Brown and Mark Damon Chutter

8 pm Phillip Lange Piano Recital St. Mary's Church, Edward Road, Dorchester, DTl 2HJ

Thursday 1st August

9.30 am Keynote: Anna Burton Guest Speaker

11 am Call for Papers 7 and 8

1.30 pm Sam Johnston Talk: Fundraising for the Hardy Archives

1.30 pm Dr Tony Fincham East of Egdon Trip

3 pm Postgraduate Forum

3 pm Poetry Workshop 2 at Max Gate (Allington Avenue, Dorchester, DTl 2N) with Lucy Boyle-Brown and Mark Damon Chutter

5.15 pm Phillip Mallett and Jane Thomas - the Norton edition of Tess -introduced by Mark

Damon Chutter, Chairman and Academic Director

7.30 pm Winter Words by Benjamin Britten with Peter Oakes, Colin Howard and Harriet Still at St Mary's Church, Edward Road, Dorchester

8 pm Hardy Quiz

Friday 2nd August

9.30 am Keynote: Oindrilla Ghosh Guest Speaker

11 am Call for Papers 9 and 10

1.30 pm A trip to Shaftesbury via Coach with Rod Drew Top O'Town Car Park

1.30 pm A trip to Wareham via train with Lucy Boyle-Brown (1.33 pm train Dorchester South Station, Brewery Square, DTl 1QX)

3 pm Opening of the Pakes Library at Kingston Maurward

6 pm Farewell Dinner and Raffle Brownsword Hall, Poundbury, DTl 3GW

8 pm Barn Dance (Ruth & Colin Thompson)

Saturday 3rd August

9.30 am Keynote: Isabelle Gadoin Guest Speaker (This event has had to be postponed)

11 am AGM United Church - (The Thomas Hardy Society Summary Accounts, 31 December 2023, available here)

Accommodation

Kingston Maurward College - Student Accommodation

Kingston Maurward College is situated in very attractive landscaped grounds approximately one and a half miles east of the town of Dorchester in the parish of Stinsford, Hardy’s ‘Mellstock’. Download Student Accommodation Form here

Walks & Tours Programme - Hardy Festival 2024

Book Online Here

The offline booking form can be downloaded here.

No. 1 Saturday 27th July

In The Childhood Footsteps of Thomas Hardy: Thorncombe Wood, Rainbarrows and Hardy’s Cottage – Lead by Alban O’Brien: limited to 16 participants.

Meet at Top o' Town Car Park for 12.30 coach departure. We will walk from the Visitors Centre through Thorncombe Woods to Rushy Pond and the Roman Road with views over Egdon Heath and Rainbarrows, returning to Hardy's birthplace for a guided tour of the cottage. Along the way, we will see places that Hardy would have known as a child and make connections with his life story, his poetry and his novels, particularly The Return of the Native. Although the distance is only about 2 miles with 400 feet of ascent there is some rough ground and so appropriate footwear is recommended.

Cost: £15.00 (£10 entry fee also due to National Trust, unless an NT member).

No. 2 Sunday 28th July

Wessex Heights – Bulbarrow, Inkpen Beacon, Win Green & Pilsdon Pen – Lead by Tony Fincham & Alban O’Brien.

An all-day coach trip exploring those 'heights in Wessex, shaped as if by a kindly hand / For thinking, dreaming, dying on ...' Starting with 'homely Bulbarrow' and then heading north to 'lngpen Beacon', thence to Winn Green (Tess of the d'Urbervilles), returning via 'little Pilsdon Crest'. Plentiful other Hardyan references on a route which traverses much of Hardy's Wessex; always aware that 'mind-chains do not clank where one's next neighbour is the sky'!

Coach departs Top O’ Town Car Park at 08.30. Estimated return time 18.00.
Cost: £35.00

No. 3 Sunday 28th July

Hardy’s Dorchester and Fordington – A Walk in Thomas Hardy’s Footsteps – Lead by Mark Chutter.

In this walk we will consider Hardy's presentation of Dorchester (Casterbridge) and Fordington (Durnover) through the lens of the novel The Mayor of Casterbridge {1886) alongside his poetry and the short story 'The Withered Arm' {1888). Please wear walking boots.

Meet at The Town Pump, South Street at 13.30.
Cost: £10.00

No. 4 Monday 29th July

Outer Casterbridge / Ancient Earthworks – Poundbury Camp, Maiden Castle, Max Gate & Maumbury Rings - Lead by Tony Fincham.

Coach departs Top O' Town Car Park 13.30 for an exploration of Hardy and History - Neolithic Earthworks, Roman Durnovaria and much more besides. Starting at Pummery (Poundbury Camp), then heading to Mai-Dun (Maiden Castle), returning via the garden of Max Gate (Roman & Bronze age site) to finish at The Ring (Maumbury Rings). Plentiful references to Hardy's poetry and fiction, particularly The Mayor of Casterbridge, 'A Changed Man' and 'A Tryst in an Ancient Earthwork'.

Coach departs Top O’ Town Car Park at 13.30.
Cost: £15.00

No. 5 Tuesday 30th July

Budmouth (Weymouth) & Nothe Fort – Lead by Byron Silver & Kate Hebditch.

Meet at Dorchester South Station around 13.30 to catch the 13:50 pm train to Weymouth, where we will tour round some locations in 'Budmouth' that bear a Hardy connection, threading our way up to the Nathe Fort (recently voted 'best small visitor attraction' in England). After refreshments, we will undertake a tour of the building, with expert guides explaining its history and the reasons behind its construction. Once our visit has been completed, we will lead a group back to the train station - taking in some more sites of historical interest - so they can catch the next available train back to Dorchester. Those who wish to remain in 'Budmouth' a little longer, to sample the many delights of this historical seaside town, will be at liberty to catch a later train back, or to make other arrangements.

Depart from Dorchester South by 13.49 train.
Cost: £20.00 (Train fare included).

No. 6 Wednesday 31st July

‘The Melancholy Hussar’ Bincombe & Chalbury Hillfort – Lead by Byron Silver.

Meet at Brewery Square, Dorchester (by the Shire Horse statue) at 13.30 to take a bus to Elwell St, Upwey. On this walk, we will visit the graveyard where Phyllis Grove and two young German officers, Matthaus Tina and Christoph Bless, are said to be buried; and we will also pass by the Bincombe Bumps, a series of Bronze Age burial mounds known locally as the 'music barrows' - from which, if you're passing around midday, it's rumoured you can sometimes hear faerie music emanating. We will also take in Chalbury Hillfort, an Iron Age settlement, which offers arresting views towards Portland and across the rolling Dorset countryside. N.B. There are no facilities on this walk. Participants will need to bring bottled water and snacks with them, and to wear appropriate footwear (i.e. boots). The group will return to Dorchester by bus from Elwell Street.

Depart by bus from Brewery Square at 13.38.
Cost: £10.00 (Excluding bus fare).

No. 7 Thursday 1st August

East of Egdon (The Return of the Native): Lead by Tony Fincham, with music provided by Ruth & Colin Thompson.

Coach departs Top O' Town Car Park 13.30 for a musical excursion to Alderworth, Eustacia and Clym's marital home and a walk to the Devil's Bellows, Rimsmoor Pond and Oker's Pool; and thence to Winfrith Heath for a short walk on an unspoilt stretch of Egdon and a reenactment of the gipsying, where Wildeve and Eustacia danced passionately together. En route we pass Rainbarrow, The Quiet Woman, Shadwater Weir, Stickleford and Throop Corner. Both walks less than a mile in length; uneven ground to reach Oker's Pool.
Cost: £20.00

No. 8 Friday 2nd August

Wareham (Anglebury) (Desperate Remedies & The Hand of Ethelberta) – Lucy Boyle Brown.

Meet at Dorchester South Railway Station at 13.15 to take the 13.33 train. This town-based walk will explore the literary connections of Wareham, which sits at the entrance to the Isle of Purbeck on the meandering rivers Frame and Piddle. The sites linked to Hardy's novels will be located, and a visit made to the ancient church of St Martin's to see the life-sized effigy of T. E. Lawrence. The turbulent history of the town will also be explored, including a walk around the Saxon walls. Refreshments and public toilets are available in the town. Only assistance dogs please due to the urban nature of the walk. Please wear sturdy footwear and waterproofs and/or sunhat depending on what the weather dictates! Estimated return is the 17.30 from Wareham arriving back in Dorchester at 17.50.
Cost: £18.00 (Train fare included).

No. 9 Friday 2nd August

Shaftesbury (Shaston) (Jude the Obscure) – Lead by Rod Drew.

Coach departs from Top o' Town Car Park 13.30 for a walk in the literary footsteps of Hardy's Jude Fawley, cousin Sue and her husband Richard Phillotson, AND English Kings - Alfred the Great, Edward the Martyr and King Cnut. Walk around Saxon Shaston - Dorset's highest hilltop town. 'a breezy and whimsical spot ... a churchyard ... nearer to heaven than the steeple AND ... beer more plentiful than water .. .' (JO). Circular one mile walk on 90% flat hard surfaces; laced with Hardy's poems and prose. Private indoor space if weather very wet, courtesy of "The Grosvenor Arms" - "The Duke Arms" of the novel.
Cost: £22.00