Special Exhibition
28 May – 30 October 2022
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
The Victorian Hall will be hosting a private event on Friday 10th June 2022, all day and Saturday 11th June 2022, 12 noon to 5:00 pm, and therefore will be closed to visitors.
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Opening hours:
Daily: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Sunday: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Bank Holidays: 10.00am - 4.00pm -
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Rural Wessex

Social tensions and animal welfare
Find out how Hardy felt about the social tensions and inequalities of the time, and how he campaigned against animal cruelty. Then take a walk around Dorchester, the market town that inspired one of Hardy’s most popular novels, The Mayor of Casterbridge.

Discover Hardy’s passion for all living things
As well as standing up for the rights of working people, Hardy campaigned against cruelty to all living things, becoming an animal rights champion.
From his first nature sketch to his controversial article defending the Dorsetshire Labourer, visitors will come to understand Hardy’s humanity and compassion.

Explore these questions:
- What role did Hardy play in the formation of early animal rights societies?
- How did the son of a builder and a servant become one of the most famous men of the 20th century?
- Did this fame sit easily with Hardy?

Highlights for visitors
- Witness a man’s grief at the death of his beloved pet, in Hardy’s hand-drawn tombstone design for his famous dog, Wessex.
- See Hardy’s first childhood watercolour of the landscape around him – and imagine this child who went on to write books that changed the world.








What's on
31 May 2022, 10:00am - 12noon
Half Term ArtyFacts
Model theatre-making based on Hardy's novels and the model by Thomas Tilley for the Hardy Players in the Hardy's Dorset Gallery.
Find out more17 June - 11 July 2022, 10:00am - 1:00pm
Hardy’s Wessex: Drawing on the ancient past
This six-week course led by artist Helen Garrett will take you on a creative journey through Thomas Hardy’s work, inspirations and Dorset Museum’s collections.
Find out more18 June 2022, 11:30am - 4:00pm
Dorset Button making day
Join Dorset button maker and artist Anna McDowell to explore the history of Dorset button-making and take part in a workshop to make your own buttons.
Find out more23 June 2022, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Hardy’s Wessex
Join exhibition curator Harriet Still to hear more about the themes and stories of our landmark Hardy's Wessex exhibition.
Find out more3 July 2022, 10:30am – 12:30pm
Sunday ArtyFacts
Create your own Victorian silhouette and Victorian style frame. Make your own drawn or painted Victorian portrait based inspired by the Hardy's Wessex exhibition, the Hardy's Gallery and portraits in the Artists' Dorset Gallery.
Find out more17 September 2022, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Robin Mackenzie Wood Engraving Workshop
This one-day workshop is perfect for beginners looking to learn a new technique, or for those who have done a little engraving and wish to progress their technique further.
Find out more14 March to 12 June 2022
A Virus a Day Textile Art by Antje Rook
Antje Rook created the A Virus a Day quilt created in response to Covid-19. The Portland artist embroidered one virus for every day of the first 2020 UK lockdown while she was isolating with her partner.
Find out more28 May – 30 October 2022
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.
Find out more2 June 2022, 10:00am - 12noon
Half Term ArtyFacts
Create your own wooden Victorian decoupage box using Victorian images and decoration in association with the Thomas Hardy exhibition and the Hardy's Dorset gallery. Younger children will be able to create simple Victorian collages.
Find out more