Max Gate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Max Gate |
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Max Gate 2015
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| General information | |
| Town or city | Dorchester, Dorset |
| Coordinates | 50°42′29″N 2°25′12″W / 50.7081°N 2.4200°W |
Max Gate is a special house located near Dorchester, Dorset, in England. It was once the home of a famous writer named Thomas Hardy. He designed and built the house himself in 1885 and lived there until he passed away in 1928. Today, Max Gate is owned by the National Trust and is open for people to visit. It's also recognized as a Grade I listed building, which means it's a very important historic place.
About Max Gate
Max Gate is a Grade I listed building, a special title it received on May 8, 1970. Thomas Hardy designed the house, and it was built in 1885 using red bricks. Its style is known as Queen Anne style.
Hardy bought a piece of land to build his home. He was very excited when he found ancient Roman items on the property! His father, who was a builder, and his brother helped him construct the house. The name "Max Gate" is a clever play on words. It came from a nearby toll-house called "Mack's Gate," named after a gate-keeper named Henry Mack.
When it was first built, Max Gate had two rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs. But Thomas Hardy soon needed more space. The house was made bigger in 1895, and more parts were added later. Hardy used three different rooms as his study at different times in his life. He wanted privacy, so he planted a thousand pine trees around the house to block the wind. Over time, these trees grew so tall and thick that they made the house quite dark. After Hardy died, his second wife, Florence, had them removed.
Max Gate's Story
Thomas Hardy lived at Max Gate from 1885 until his death in 1928. He lived there first with his wife Emma, and then with his second wife Florence. This house was where he wrote some of his most famous books, like Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Jude the Obscure, and The Mayor of Casterbridge. He also wrote many of his poems there.
In 1940, Hardy's sister, Kate, gave the house to the National Trust. She said that people should always live in the house. Max Gate has been lived in ever since.
The house first opened to the public in 1994, but only for a few days a week and with limited access. Starting in 2011, the National Trust began opening all three floors of the house five days a week, from March to October. Visitors can now see the hall, drawing room, two studies, the dining room, and the kitchen. In 2013, two bedrooms were also opened for the first time. One of these is the room where Thomas Hardy wrote The Mayor of Casterbridge and where he passed away. The house still has some of Hardy's furniture. However, his main study has been moved to the Dorset Museum.
Ancient Discoveries
Under the grounds of Max Gate, there's an ancient site from the Neolithic period (the New Stone Age). It's called Flagstones, and it's a large, circular ditch about 100 meters across. Half of this ancient site is under the house's property. The other half was dug up and studied by archaeologists in 1987. This happened before the Dorchester bypass road was built.
