THS Conference Friday 31st July 2026

Friday 31st July 2026
All day event
The Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1RR

The 27th International Thomas Hardy Conference and Festival

Friday, 31st July 2026

Sherborne Tour: Sherton Abbas

Explore the former capital of the Kingdom of Wessex
Revisit scenes from The Woodlanders

Time: 1.30pm - Coach departs at 1.30pm, returning around 5.00pm

Cost: £20 - THS Conference Ticketholders

£23 - THS Members

£25 - Non-members

Meet: Top o' Town Car Park for 1.30pm coach departure

Led by THS Chair, Mark Damon Chutter: this walking tour around the quintessentially historic English town of Sherborne will explore the highlights of this former capital of the Kingdom of Wessex with its historic abbey, featured in "The Woodlanders" and used for filming "Far From The Madding Crowd" in 2014.

Hardy used Sherborne as a key inspiration for Sherton Abbas in his novels. There will be readings from ‘ The Woodlanders’ and from Hardy’s poetry. Do not miss this picturesque opportunity to see one of the most historic and conserved towns in Wessex.

Sherborne Abbey was founded as a Saxon cathedral and Benedictine monastery in AD 705 by St Aldhelm and largely rebuilt in the 15th century. It is where Giles Winterbourne and Grace Melbury talked of their future in "The Woodlanders". The market place (pictured below) is where Giles stood with his sample apple trees

In "The Woodlanders", Hardy says that the hotel at Sherborne was the Earl of Wessex, “a substantial inn of stone with a yawning back yard into which vehicles were driven by coachmen to stabling of wonderful commodiousness.” He was referring to The Digby Hotel, where Giles set up his mobile apple press in the yard — and where Grace saw him for the first time after her marriage. The hotel is no more but the town is full of many wonderful stone buildings.

As described in Thomas Hardy's Wessex (1913) by Herman Lea,

"Sherton Abbas, a fascinating old town full of quaint bits of architecture and mediaeval buildings, is an approximation of Sherborne. The market-place in the centre of the town is where Winterborne is pictured, fixed to the spot close by his apple-tree, unable to advance to meet Miss Melbury. The town has many interesting buildings, among them the school, attached to which is the museum in which is preserved the noted megalosaurus, whose upper and lower jaws are more perfect than any other specimen extant."

BOOK ONLINE

Priority booking for Full Conference Ticket Holders

Booking Open to others from 2nd June 2026 (Subject to availability)

Max Gate: House & Gardens Tour

Marking the Centenary of Virginia Woolf's visit to the Hardys

Max Gate House & Gardens, (C) Lisa Wilcock, courtesy of National Trust

Time: 1.30pm (meet at Max Gate)

Cost: £10* - THS Conference ticket holders (National Trust members)

£20* - THS Conference ticket holders

*Includes access to Max Gate

Venue: Max Gate, Alington Ave, Dorchester DT1 2FN

A great opportunity to visit the house in Dorchester that Hardy designed and lived in until his death in 1928.

Join us for a tour of the house and gardens and a special performance by The New Hardy Players to commemorate the centenary of Virginia Woolf's visit to the Hardys at Max Gate on 25th July 1926.

BOOK ONLINE

Priority booking is given to Conference ticket holders

Booking open to others from 2nd June 2026 (subject to availability)

Woolfs at the Door

Creative Writing Workshop with Lucy Boyle Brown

Marking the Centenary of Virginia Woolf's visit to Max Gate

Time: 3.00pm

Cost: FREE

Venue: Hardy's House, Max Gate

Part of the 2026 THS Conference & Festival Programme

On Sunday 25th July 1926 Virginia Woolf, accompanied by her husband Leonard, visited Thomas and Florence Hardy at Max Gate.

Her diary entry starts thus:

“At first I thought it was Hardy, & it was the parlourmaid, a small thin girl, wearing a proper cap. She came in with silver cake stands & so on. Mrs Hardy talked to us about her dog. How long ought we to stay? Can Mr Hardy walk much &c I asked, making conversation as I knew one would have to.”

Join us for a creative writing workshop that reimagines the Woolfs' visit to Max Gate.

No experience necessary - just a willingness to be playfully creative!