From Friday 29th May 2026 until Sunday 31st May 2026
Starts 19:00 until 20:00

Thomas Hardy Birthday Weekend 2026

Join the Thomas Hardy Society for a whole weekend of Hardy-related activities to celebrate Hardy's 186th birthday

Friday, 29th May 2026

7.00pm - Lecture: Comedy in Hardy, Mark Damon Chutter - Dorset Museum & Art Gallery (Not a THS Event)

Mark Damon Chutter, THS Chair and Academic Director, will examine how comedy and comic timing shape Hardy’s prose and poetry.

From the rustic chorus of characters like Joseph Poorgrass in Far from the Madding Crowd and Susan Nunsuch in The Return of the Native, to the sharp satire and irony of poems like The Ruined Maid, Hardy’s humour is never far from tragedy. Through wit and irony, his comedy deepens the pathos, paving the way toward the inevitable fates of his characters.

Tickets: £18 THS / DNHAS members £20 Non-members (includes a glass of white wine or sparkling elderflower)

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Saturday, 30th May 2026

11.00am - Walk: Hardy Buildings and Borough Gardens, Mark Damon Chutter

In this walk we will explore the buildings used in Hardy’s novels and poetry including ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’, ‘The Withered Arm’ and locations where the writer penned some of his work such as ‘A Changed Man’ in the newly renovated building in High West Street . The walk includes a special preview visit to this unique listed building by kind permission of owner Antoinette Weller.

We finish off with a promenade through the Borough Gardens; the Victorian pleasure gardens created for the town in 1896, the year that Hardy ended his career as a novelist to concentrate on his poetry. The Borough Gardens has many interesting Victorian features, such as the 16ft high fountain and the elaborate cast-iron clock. The bandstand became an important hub for many of the town's events, and the recently created Hardy Rose Garden is a living memorial to Dorchester's most famous son.

Tickets: £10 THS members £15 Non-members

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2.00pm - Lecture: Law, Order and Subversion in Hardy, Mark Damon Chutter - Shire Hall Museum (Not a THS Event)

Thomas Hardy qualified as a magistrate in 1884. He was Justice of the Peace for the Borough of Dorchester from 1884, and for the County of Dorset from 1894. He sat in court at least thirty-eight times as a magistrate and served at least sixteen times on grand juries for the Assizes.

As a Justice of the Peace, Hardy was aware of the Law and the Judiciary. In this talk the chairman and academic director of the Thomas Hardy Society, Mark Damon Chutter will consider the law, order and subversion in the work of Thomas Hardy. From ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ to ‘Tess’ and ‘The Return of the Native’ to ‘Jude’ and then to the poetry – Hardy presents a moral orJoider and law that wreaks havoc when it is broken and thus tragedy ensues to the demise of all.

Tickets: £10

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HARDY AND MUSIC

3.30pm to 6.30pm

The Casterbridge Room, The King's Arms

Join the Thomas Hardy Society for an afternoon exploring the importance of music to Hardy and the various musical interpretations and adaptions that composers and musicians have created over the years.

Thomas Hardy's fascination with music is reflected throughout his novels and poems. He was deeply immersed in music from a young age, with his father and grandfather playing in the Stinsford Church band, and Hardy himself playing the fiddle at age seven. This upbringing influenced his literature, with musical themes and folk songs appearing in his works. He loved traditional, rural folk music, and hymns, often using music to connect the past and present.

The musicality in Hardy’s poetry also stems from his use of varied meters and rhythms that sometimes act to counteract the formal symmetry of his verse.

Tickets: £20 THS Members £25 Non-members (includes tea/coffee and cake)

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Itinerary

Hardy & Music

3.30pm - Birthday Lecture: "Raise a Hearty Tune": Hardy’s Poetry in Art Song, Dr Natalie Burton

Dr Natalie Burton

In spite of the complexities of Hardy’s versification, the evocative language of his poetry has attracted attention from a significant number of composers. In this talk, we will explore the ways in which a range of composers approach the musical setting of Hardy’s words, whilst considering some of the underlying critical questions that the intermedial form of song inevitably gives rise to.

4.30pm - Refreshment Break with Tea/Coffee and Cake

5.00pm - "The Musical Heritage of Thomas Hardy" by Bonny Sartin

Bonny Sartin c. Nick Churchill

Thomas Hardy was not only a brilliant writer and poet but also a talented fiddle player. Bonny Sartin (Yetties) tells the story of his music, his instruments, and the characters he created, many of whom were involved in traditional song, music or dance. With poems, songs and readings.