From Saturday 25th July 2026 until Saturday 1st August 2026
All day event

2026 International Thomas Hardy Conference and Festival

Save the Date

Next year's conference will take place in Poundbury at the Dorchester Community Church.

Pummery features in many of Hardy's works and we look forward to running the conference activities from this exciting new venue.

Developed on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, Poundbury was the brainchild of King Charles III to build an urban extension to the historic county town of Dorchester.

It has been designed to create a sustainable community which achieves an attractive, modern and pleasing place in which people can live, work, shop and play.

Nearby Poundbury Hillfort was the scene of Henchard's disastrous fete in the Mayor of Casterbridge - let's hope that's not a bad omen!!!

Dorchester Community Church is completely accessible, wheelchair-friendly with disabled toilet facilities.

Click here for info on Poundbury

Poundbury is 1.5 miles, a thirty minute walk or 10 minute drive from Dorchester Town Centre. There are buses running to and from Poundbury every 10 minutes. Parking in Poundbury is free.

We hope you can join us

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