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.

  • Opening hours:

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

  • Admissions:

    Annual Pass or Day Entry available

    Book now
  • Dorset Museum

    High West Street
    Dorchester DT1 1XA

    View Map


https://www.dorsetmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wessex-Museums.png

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.

Visit website

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

https://www.dorsetmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Art-Fund_Logo.png

https://www.dorsetmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Dorset-Museum-Garefield-Weston-e1645627961125.jpg


https://www.dorsetmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/grant_jpeg_black-scaled.jpg

https://www.dorsetmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Heritage-Lottery_logo.webphttps://www.dorsetmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Battens_Logo-2.png

Rural Wessex

Wessex Words

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

Community Exhibition

18 February - 22 June 2023

The Art of Seeing: An exhibition of photographs by Dorchester Camera Club

The Club is delighted to have this opportunity to exhibit some of their members’ prints in the Dorset Museum together with an audio-visual presentation.

Find out more

Tours

21 March 2023, 11:00am - 12:00pm

Archaeology Highlights Tour

Explore archaeological treasures held by Dorset Museum – from Bronze Age gold to medieval silver -  in this volunteer-led tour.

Find out more

Special Exhibition

22 March - 25 June 2023

ARTIST ROOMS: Louise Bourgeois

Explore the work of Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010), one of the most important figures of modern and contemporary art. This spring Dorset Museum will show a major presentation of her work in this Artist Rooms touring exhibition featuring works jointly owned by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland.

Find out more

Dorset Museum Music Society

22 March 2023, 7:30pm

Cordiera Piano Trio

A varied programme ranging from J.S. Bach’s most revolutionary son to a vivid and exciting contemporary American work by way of two pillars of the standard chamber music repertoire.

Find out more

Museum after hours

23 March 2023, 5:00pm - 6:30pm

FREE | Museum After Hours

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

Find out more

FULLY BOOKED

23 March 2023, 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Joanna Quinn in conversation with Tracy Chevalier

Spend an evening with Joanna Quinn and best-selling author Tracy Chevalier as they discuss Quinn’s debut novel, The Whalebone Theatre, a brilliant coming-of-age story set in Dorset before and during World War II.

Find out more

Special Event

24 March 2023, 6:00pm - 9:00pm

This is Now

The Friendly Society of Artistic Labourers and Dorset Museum invites you to a spectacular showcase of contemporary art, design, media, music, and performance. Inspired by…

Find out more

Tours

28 March 2023, 11:00am - 12:00noon

Dorset Museum Highlights Tour

Explore 250 million years of Dorset’s history in this volunteer-led highlights tour of Dorset Museum. Discover Roman mosaics, fossils from the Jurassic Coast, Thomas Hardy manuscripts and the sculptures of Elisabeth Frink – and plenty more along the way.

Find out more

Workshop

1 April 2023, 10:00am to 4:30pm

One day life painting pose

This is a structured class that will take students through the traditional monochrome underpainting approach to painting the figure in oils. Same pose all day…

Find out more

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