Special Exhibition

28 May – 30 October 2022

Hardy's Wessex

 

The largest collection of Thomas Hardy objects ever displayed at one time

A major exhibition across four venues – Dorset Museum (Dorchester), Poole Museum, The Salisbury Museum and Wiltshire Museum (Devizes)

Take a fresh look at the Victorian novelist and poet, Thomas Hardy, in the stunning Wessex landscapes that shaped his view of the world. His story will be retold in exciting new ways by our museum collections, from period costumes to personal letters, art to archaeology.

  • Four exhibitions, each exploring a different Hardy theme
  • A treasure trove of objects that give personal insights into Thomas Hardy’s life
  • Many of the objects have never been on public display before
  • Each exhibition has a star object on loan from a national museum

 

Hardy’s Wessex at Dorset Museum

The exhibition at each venue will be different – in Dorset Museum, it explores Hardy’s views on social tensions and animal welfare. Famous as a novelist, poet and social commentator, Hardy never lost touch with his experience of the working-class lives and poverty of rural Dorset.  Paintings, writing, costume and drawings will bring his writing and personality to life. The painting The Village Choir by Thomas Webster (loaned by the Victoria and Albert Museum), for example, provides a snapshot of the rural musicians Hardy grew up with and wrote about in his novels.

Hardy had family pets and designed and carved his dog, Wessex’s, tombstone himself. He was also deeply concerned about the welfare of animals and became friends with early animal rights activists. He wrote to the newspapers to protest against performing animals, wrote poems criticising blood sports, and published novels about the link between people and animals.

Important Announcement

Friday 22 September 2023, The Victorian Hall will also be closed all day for a private function. The Fine Foundation Dorset Story Space, next the the Thomas Hardy's Dorset Gallery will also be closed for an hour around Midday.

  • Opening hours:

    Daily: 9.00am - 4.30pm
    Sunday: 10.00am - 4.00pm
    Bank Holidays: 10.00am - 4.00pm

  • Admissions:

    10% discount for Adult and Young Person Unlimited Ticket booked online using discount code DM01

    BOOK ONLINE SAVE 10%
  • Dorset Museum

    High West Street
    Dorchester DT1 1XA

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Dorset Museum is part of the NPO (National Partnership Organisation) with Wessex Museums.

Wessex Museums is a charity that exists to build the resilience of partner museums and make them relevant to diverse audiences.

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This exhibition is supported by the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund.

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Rural Wessex

Wessex Words

Take part in our Wessex Words reading challenge this summer, inspired by our Hardy’s Wessex exhibition.

Community Exhibition

21 July - 29 October 2023

Nature Heals | Photography by Trevor Parsons

Dorset Museum and Dorchester Arts co-present Nature Heals, an exhibition of nature photography by Trevor Parsons.

Find out more

Special Exhibition

21 July - 29 October 2023

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the world-famous exhibition from the Natural History Museum, is coming to Dorset Museum this summer.

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Special Display

4 August – 28 September 2023

The Askerswell Hoard

Discover a rare Roman coin hoard recently acquired by Dorset Museum, and find out about the work going on to preserve, research and catalogue it, in this special showcase display outside the Collections Discovery Centre.

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CANCELLED

6 October 2023, 10:00am -1:00pm, 

Creative Journeys Through Time | 6 week art workshop with Helen Garrett

Designed for adults interested in art, prehistory and archaeology, and running as a six-week block, this course is an exciting opportunity to get up close with some extraordinary artefacts in the collection at Dorset Museum.

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Adult Workshop

9 October 2023, 2:00pm to 4:30pm

Life Drawing at Dorset Museum – Eight-week course led by James Meiklejohn

This eight-week structured course is suitable for complete beginners to those with some experience.

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Talk

10 October 2023, 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Wildlife friendly gardening | Mitch Perkins

Would you like to make your garden more wildlife friendly?  Join Mitch Perkins to find out how.

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Museum after hours

19 October 2023, 5:00pm - 6:30pm

FREE | Museum After Hours

Join us for an opportunity to explore the Museum at this FREE late opening.

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Lecture

19 October 2023, 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Real Dorset | Jon Woolcott

In this lecture, let Jon Woolcott take you on an amusing whistle-stop tour through some of the discoveries and oddities that make Dorset unique.

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Tours

25 October 2023, 2:00pm - 2:45pm

Collections Discovery Centre Tour

Join our Collections Team for an opportunity to explore behind the scenes in the Museum’s Collections Discovery Centre.

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Survey of your visit

We hope you enjoyed your visit to the exhibition Hardy’s Wessex: The landscape that inspired a writer.

We would like to invite you to complete the survey in the link to help us understand your experience better and to improve our exhibitions in the future.

We look forward to seeing you again at Dorset Museum in the future.

Start Survey