Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 in this small cob and thatch cottage and from here he would walk to school every day in Dorchester, six miles away. It was built by his great-grandfather and is little altered since. The interior has been furnished by the NT (see also Max Gate). His early novels Under the Greenwood Tree and Far from the Madding Crowd were written here. It has a charming cottage garden. What’s new in 2004: Colour leaflet guide