Inspiration – Woodsford Castle

This is the surviving part of a 14th-century castle, a rambling wing of great interest and charm, deep in Hardy country just outside Dorchester. Its roof has one of the largest expanses of thatch in the county. Just one side of the quadrangular castle, built-in 1370 and probably added to an existing group of buildings, remains today. An earlier restoration was carried out by Thomas Hardy’s builder father in 1850, and Hardy himself came here often.   read more