Thomas Hardy's Wessex facts for kids
Thomas Hardy's Wessex is a special make-believe land created by the famous English writer Thomas Hardy. He used this fictional place as the setting for many of his important novels. This "Wessex" is located in the south and southwest parts of England.
Hardy named his fictional area "Wessex" after a real ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom. This kingdom existed in that part of England a long time ago, before England became one united country under King Æthelstan. Even though the places in Hardy's books are real, he often gave them made-up names. For example, Hardy's own hometown, Dorchester, is called Casterbridge in his books. You can see this in his famous novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge. In 1895, Hardy described Wessex as "a merely realistic dream country." This means it felt real but was still a creation of his imagination.
The idea of "Hardy's Wessex" changed over time. When he first thought of it, it was just the small area of Dorset where he grew up. But by the time he wrote Jude the Obscure, it had grown much larger. It included all of Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon, Hampshire, most of Berkshire, and some of Oxfordshire. Its most northern point was Oxford, which he called "Christminster" in his novel. Cornwall was also mentioned, but he called it "Off Wessex."
Hardy brought the name "Wessex" back into popular use. Today, many groups use the name "Wessex" to show their connection to the south-west of England. Hardy's idea of Wessex as a unique place has been very powerful. It has even led to a busy tourist trade and a political group called the Wessex Regionalist Party.
Contents
Exploring Thomas Hardy's Wessex Names
Wessex Regions and Real English Counties
Hardy divided his fictional Wessex into different regions. These regions are based on real English counties. Here's how they match up:
| Region of Wessex | Actual English County | Position on Map |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Wessex | Devon | 9 |
| Mid Wessex | Wiltshire | 37 |
| North Wessex | Berkshire | 2 |
| Outer Wessex | Somerset | 30 |
| South Wessex | Dorset | 10 |
| Upper Wessex | Hampshire | 14 |
It's interesting to note that the Isle of Wight is now a separate county. However, during Thomas Hardy's time, it was part of Hampshire. This means it was considered part of Upper Wessex. Also, Alfredston (Wantage) and its nearby areas were in Berkshire. But after 1974, they became part of Oxfordshire. Outer Wessex is sometimes also called Nether Wessex.
Specific Places in Thomas Hardy's Wessex
Table of Wessex Place-Names and Their Real-Life Locations
Hardy used many real places in his novels, but he gave them new, fictional names. This table shows some of those places and where they appear in his stories:
| Wessex Name | Region of Wessex | Actual Name | Appearance in Hardy's Novels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbot's-Cernel | South Wessex | Cerne Abbas | Where Mrs. Dollery was driving at the start of The Woodlanders. (W) |
| Aldbrickham | North Wessex | Reading | Where Jude and Sue lived together. Also where Arabella worked as a barmaid. (JtO) |
| Alfredston | North Wessex | Wantage | Jude Fawley became a mason's apprentice here. (JtO) |
| Anglebury | South Wessex | Wareham | Thomasin and Wildeve's wedding did not happen here. (RotN) |
| Bramshurst | Upper Wessex | Lyndhurst | Tess and Angel hid in an empty house here. (TotD) |
| Budmouth | South Wessex | Weymouth | Frank Troy gambles on horse races here. (FftMC) Eustacia Vye's hometown. (RotN) |
| Casterbridge | South Wessex | Dorchester | The main setting for The Mayor of Casterbridge. (MoC) Fanny Robin dies at the poorhouse here. (FftMC) |
| Chalk Newton | South Wessex | Maiden Newton | Site of Flintcomb-Ash farm, where Tess worked. (TotD) |
| Chaseborough | South Wessex | Cranborne | Tess passed through here on her way to Trantridge. (TotD) |
| Christminster | North Wessex | Oxford | Jude Fawley went here to become a scholar. Sue Bridehead worked in a shop here. (JtO) |
| Cliff Martin | Outer Wessex | Combe Martin | This place is actually in Devon, showing Hardy's boundaries were flexible. |
| Cresscombe | North Wessex | Letcombe Bassett | Arabella's hometown. (JtO) |
| Durnover | South Wessex | Fordington | |
| Endelstow | Off Wessex | St Juliot | Home of Elfride Swancourt. (PoBE) This is where Thomas Hardy met his first wife, Emma. |
| Emminster | South Wessex | Beaminster | Home of Angel Clare. (TotD) |
| Evershead | South Wessex | Evershot | Tess met Alec here after they had been apart. (TotD) |
| Exonbury | Lower Wessex | Exeter | Grace went here after finding out about Fitzpier's affair. (W) |
| Flintcomb-Ash | South Wessex | Dole's Ash Farm at Plush | The "starve-acre" farm where Tess did hard farm work. (TotD) |
| Fountall | Outer Wessex | Wells | |
| Gaymead | North Wessex | Theale | (JtO and WT) |
| Havenpool | South Wessex | Poole | Newson arrived here from Newfoundland. (MoC) |
| Isle of Slingers | South Wessex | Isle of Portland | The main setting for The Well-Beloved. (WB) |
| Ivell | Outer Wessex | Yeovil | |
| Kennetbridge | North Wessex | Newbury | A busy town near Marygreen. (JtO) |
| Kingsbere | South Wessex | Bere Regis | The d'Urberville family church is here. (TotD) |
| Knollsea | South Wessex | Swanage | Where Lord Mountclere lived. (HoE) |
| Lulwind Cove | South Wessex | Lulworth Cove | Sergeant Troy was thought to have drowned here. (FftMC) |
| Lumsdon | North Wessex | Cumnor | Jude Fawley met his old teacher Mr. Phillotson here. (JtO) |
| Marlott | South Wessex | Marnhull | Tess Durbeyfield was born and grew up here. (TotD) |
| Marygreen | North Wessex | Fawley | Drusilla Fawley ran a bakery here. Sue Bridehead spent her childhood here. (JtO) |
| Melchester | Mid Wessex | Salisbury | Jude went here to prepare for the ministry. Sue Bridehead studied to be a teacher here. (JtO) |
| Mellstock | South Wessex | Stinsford and Higher & Lower Bockhampton | Thomas Hardy's birthplace. His heart is buried here. (JtO) Most of Under the Greenwood Tree is set here. (UtGT) |
| Middleton | South Wessex | Milton Abbas | Where Charmond lived. (W) |
| Middleton Abbey | South Wessex | Milton Abbey | Where Charmond lived. (W) |
| Narrowbourne | Outer Wessex | West Coker | Setting of a short story, "A Tragedy of Two Ambitions." |
| Nuttlebury | South Wessex | Hazelbury Bryan | Tess passed through here on her way home. (TotD) |
| Overcombe | South Wessex | Sutton Poyntz | The main setting for The Trumpet-Major. (TM) |
| Port Bredy | South Wessex | Bridport | Lucetta and Farfrae secretly married here. (MoC) |
| Po'sham | South Wessex | Portesham | Home of Captain Thomas Hardy, a commander under Lord Nelson. (TM) |
| Quartershot | Upper Wessex | Aldershot | An important military base. (JtO) |
| Sandbourne | Upper Wessex | Bournemouth | Where Tess Durbeyfield lived with Alec. She later committed a serious act here. (TotD) |
| Shaston | South Wessex | Shaftesbury | Jack Durbeyfield visited the doctor here. (TotD) Mr. Phillotson moved here to run a school. (JtO) |
| Sherton Abbas | South Wessex | Sherborne | A major town near the Hintocks, where The Woodlanders took place. (W) |
| Slingers | South Wessex | Isle of Portland | The main setting for The Well-Beloved. (WB) |
| Solentsea | Upper Wessex | Southsea | The setting of the short story "An Imaginative Woman." |
| Stancy Castle | Outer Wessex | Dunster Castle | The main setting for A Laodicean. (L) |
| Stoke Barehills | Upper Wessex | Basingstoke | Where the Great Wessex Agricultural Show was held. (JtO) |
| Stourcastle | South Wessex | Sturminster Newton | Tess traveled through here. (TotD) |
| Street of Wells | South Wessex | Fortuneswell | The main street on Isle of Slingers. (WB) |
| Toneborough | Outer Wessex | Taunton | |
| Trantridge | South Wessex | Pentridge | Site of the D'Urberville family estate. (TotD) |
| Warborne | South Wessex | Wimborne | Nearest town to Welland. (ToaT) |
| Weatherbury | South Wessex | Puddletown | Main setting for Far From the Madding Crowd. (FftMC) |
| Weatherbury Farm | South Wessex | Waterston Manor | Bathsheba's farm. (FftMC) |
| Wellbridge | South Wessex | Wool | Where Tess told Angel her story after they married. (TotD) |
| Weydon-Priors | Upper Wessex | Weyhill | Where Michael Henchard made a very regrettable decision. (MoC) |
| Wintoncester | South Wessex | Winchester | Tess Durbeyfield was held and executed in this former capital of Wessex. (TotD) |
Wessex in Art and Books
Many artists have painted or drawn the landscapes and buildings that Hardy described. Their artwork was used to illustrate books that explored the real countryside behind the fictional Wessex. Some of these artists include Walter Tyndale, Edmund Hort New, and Charles George Harper.
Here are some books that explore Hardy's Wessex:
- B. C. A. Windle & E. H. New (illustrator). The Wessex of Thomas Hardy (London, New York, J. Lane, 1902).
- Charles G. Harper. The Hardy country; literary landmarks of the Wessex novels (London, A. & C. Black, 1904).
- Clive Holland. Wessex (A & C Black, 1906).
- Sidney Heath.The Heart of Wessex (Blackie & Son, 1910?).
- Charles G. Harper. Wessex ("Beautiful Britain", London: A. & C. Black, 1911).
- R. Thurston Hopkins & E. Harries (illustrator). Thomas Hardy's Dorset (New York: D. Appleton and co. 1922).
- Hermann Lea. Thomas Hardy's Wessex (London, Macmillan and co. 1911).
- Ralph Pite, Hardy's geography: Wessex and the regional novel. Palgrave, 2002.
- Andrew D. Radford, Mapping the Wessex novel: landscape, history and the parochial in British literature, 1870–1940. (London; New York: Continuum International Pub., 2010.
- Walter Tyndale. Hardy country water-colours (A & C Black, 19??).
- Barry J Cade. Thomas Hardy's Locations (Casterbridge Publishing Limited 2015) This is a colorful guide for tourists. It shows the places Hardy thought of when he wrote The Mayor of Casterbridge and Far from the Madding Crowd.
