Thomas Hardy Birthday Weekend 2025

This year's birthday weekend was a great success - the weather was on our side and everyone that came enjoyed a full programme of weekend activities.

The Paula Byrne Lecture on Friday evening at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery

The weekend got off to a great start with acclaimed biographer Paula Byrne discussing her recent book, Hardy Women: Mother, Sisters, Wives, Muses at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery. Reflecting on Hardy’s relationship with women; those from his reality and those from his imagination, Paula’s knowledge and enthusiasm for her subject shone through.

Midday Walk: Performativity and theatrical spaces in the Mayor of Casterbridge

On Saturday, Mark Damon Chutter, our Chair & Academic Director, revisited some of the sites featured in the Mayor of Casterbridge on a walk entitled Performativity and theatrical spaces in The Mayor of Casterbridge and Poetry. The New Hardy Players joined us, and we followed a raucous Skimmity Ride through the streets of Casterbridge to The Ring.

The Skimmity Ride with the New Hardy Players

Lecture: Hardy & Justice in the Old Courtroom, Shire Hall Museum

We reconvened after lunch at the old Courtroom in Shire Hall Museum for a talk on Hardy and Justice. With memories of the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ trial embedded in those very walls, the setting was most appropriate as Hardy had been magistrate in Dorchester for 18 years and would have sat on the bench from which the lecture was delivered.

Phillip Mallett: Neither Tory nor Radical: Hardy, Politics, and Culture in The Casterbridge Room

In the afternoon, Phillip Mallett, our keynote speaker, provided a meticulously researched lecture on Neither Tory nor Radical”: Hardy, Politics, and Culture, exploring anxieties about national identity, social order and social change, war and empire, relative to Hardy’s lifetime.

Wreath-laying Procession with Dorchester Mayor and the Town Councillors

Dorchester’s Mayor and Town Councillors then led the annual wreath-laying procession to Hardy's statue, accompanied by fiddle player, John Dike, in tribute to Hardy’s affection for the instrument. The procession continued to William Barnes statue where a second wreath was laid by the William Barnes Society, in memory of this other great Dorchester poet, who was a mentor and friend of Hardy.

Sunday Morning Service at St Michael's Church, Stinsford

The Sunday service at St Michael’s Church, Stinsford, was taken by our own former Chair, Richard Franklin, with those attending sat amongst the pews where Hardy himself would have sat. Richard is a prominent figure in Thomas Hardy studies and has also spent many years as a parish priest. It was wonderful that he could join us to celebrate the occasion.

Wreath-Laying at St Michael's Church, Stinsford

The birthday wreath was laid on Hardy's grave, complemented with poems and readings from his works.

A Walk around the Kingston Maurward Estate with Alban O'Brien

Following tea and cake, we had an informative talk about the church with local tour guide and member of the THS CoM, Alban O'Brien, before heading off for a walk around the Kingston Maurward estate. Following in Hardy’s footsteps, we explored locations that featured in Under The Greenwood Tree, stopping at Fancy Day’s schoolhouse and retracing the route taken by the Mellstock Quire, also visiting The Fane temple and the old manor house where Victorian villain Aeneas Manston lived in Desperate Measures.

A Beautiful Thread

Although not a THS event, the production of A Beautiful Thread later in the day was outstanding. The performers and musicians put on a very moving show, that was quite emotional at times.

A wonderful grand finale for celebrating Thomas Hardy's 185th birthday!

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2026 THS Dates for your diary

From 29/05/2026 until 12/12/2026
Starts 11:00 until 13:00

Thomas Hardy Birthday Weekend 2026

From 29/05/2026 until 31/05/2026
Starts 19:00 until 20:00

27th International Thomas Hardy Conference and Festival

From 25/07/2026 until 01/08/2026
All day event

Roman Casterbridge

On 25/07/2026
Starts 13:30 until 15:30