A Weekend with Hardy & Powys

Hardy & Powys: Time & Place

Study Day and walk around Chaldon Herring

Members of the Thomas Hardy Society and the Powys Society enjoyed an informative weekend exploring the lives and works of the Powys family and their many connections to Thomas Hardy.

The societies' chairs, Mark Damon Chutter (THS) and Paul Cheshire (PS), welcomed delegates and introduced the speakers. Talks were given by Dr Tony Fincham, Vice-President and former Chair of the Thomas Hardy Society; Mitch Rowe, THS Student Representative; and Powys Society members Anthony Head and Peter Tait.

Michelle Hilborne, representing the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), described its work and the active roles played by A. R. Powys and Thomas Hardy in the organisation.

The delightful Casterbridge Room at the King's Arms sheltered us from the day's heavy rain and high winds, while scrumptious afternoon cake provided a special treat.

Calmer weather returned the next day for a guided walk around Chaldon Herring. On what turned out to be a rather sunny and pleasant day, THS Chair and Academic Director Mark Chutter provided noteworthy information on the village's picturesque cottages, church and former school, now the village hall. The hall is to become a museum celebrating the many artists, writers and freethinkers who lived and worked there. Known as “Bloomsbury in Dorset”, the area became an eccentric bohemian enclave and was home to the Powys family, Sylvia Townsend, Valentine Ackland, and sculptors Elizabeth Muntz and Stephen Tomlin. Philip Beale, who now owns the cottage where Elizabeth Muntz lived and worked, kindly gave delegates a tour of his beautiful home, which includes her former workshop.

The weekend concluded with a delicious Sunday lunch at the Sailors Return, an 18th-century country pub formed from two thatched cottages and the direct inspiration for David Garnett's 1926 novel of the same name.