Thomas Hardy's Dorset - R. Thurston Hopkins

CHAPTER		PAGE
I.	DORSET FOLK AND DORSET WAYS	[13]
	The Dorset Rustic a Genial Fellow—Unconscious Humour—TheJovial Blacksmith—Cider-making—The PoeticTippler—Anglo-Saxon Tongue—Enigmatical Sayings andProverbs—A Dorset Rector and his Ale—Whiplegs—Thatchand "Cob"—A Beautiful Tract between Seatonand West Bay—The Devil's Own Card—Thomas Hardy'sStory of Witchcraft—Conjurer Trendle—The Piskies—TheBibulous Farmer and the Piskies—The Cider Mill—HappyDays at Hovey's Barn—Marc Bricks—A Gameof "Hunting"—A Dorset Vicar on Miracles—Akermann'sWiltshire Glossary—William Barnes—"Dorset's goodenough for me!"—Large Farm Kitchens

II.	BARFORD ST MARTIN TO TISBURY AND SHAFTESBURY	[33]
	Tisbury—John Lockwood Kipling—The Green Dragonat Barford St Martin—The Man who laughed gloriously—Pointsof Perfection in a Greyhound—The Best Dogthat ever breathed—Shaftesbury and its Traditions—ACurious Custom—A Story of Water-carrying Days atShaston—Bimport and Jude the Obscure—Old Grove'sPlace—Marnhull—Pure Drop Inn

III.	THE VALE OF BLACKMOOR	[45]
	Fortune scowls on me—The Song of the Nightingale—ALittle Round-Faced Man—The Hauntings of WoolpitHouse—The Vale of Blackmoor—White-Hart Silver—King'sStag Inn—The Length of Life in Animals—Folk-Sayingsof Blackmoor—The Maidens of Blackmoor—Barnesthe Poet

IV.	BLANDFORD TO DORCHESTER	[59]
	Blandford—Winterborne Whitchurch—Turberville thePoet—Milborne St Andrews—"Welland House"—Hardy'sTwo on a Tower—Puddletown—The Storyof Farmer Dribblecombe and the Christmas Ale—TheAncient Family of Martins—The Ape of the Martins—TheLast of the Martins—The Church of Puddletown—ASad Love Story—"Weatherbury Upper Farm"

V.	DORCHESTER	[69]
	Daniel Defoe's Description of Dorchester—DoctorArbuthnot—St Peter's Church—Thomas Hardy ofMelcombe Regis—William Barnes—Judge Jeffreys—MaumburyRings—Mary Channing strangled and burnt—ThomasHardy and Relics of Roman Occupation—MaidenCastle—Old Inns—The Grammar School—Napper'sMite—Hangman's Cottage—The Bull Stake—"Jopp'sCottage"—Priory Ruins—High Place Hall—ColytonHouse—The Mask with a Leer—Thomas Hardyand the Habits of Bridge Haunters—Dorchester Ale—"Groves"Stingo—The Trumpet Major—Toby Fillpot—ADorchester Butt—Far from the Madding Crowd—"YellowhamWood"—The Brown Owl—The Hedge Pig—Fordington—Churchof St George—Hardy's"Mellstock"—Winterborne Villages—Original Manuscriptof Mayor of Casterbridge—Wolverton House—KnightlyTrenchards—Cerne Abbas and "The Giant"

VI.	A LITERARY NOTE: THOMAS HARDY AND WILLIAM BARNES	[98]
	Hardy's Grandfather—Hardy as a Poet—PrimitiveNature Worship—Prose Poem of the Cider-Maker—WilliamBarnes—Troublous Days—"Woak Hill"—Pathetic Touch

VII.	BERE REGIS AND THE ANCIENT FAMILY OF TURBERVILLE	[122]
	Yellowham Hill—"The Royal Oak" at Bere Regis—MyFriend the Thatcher—The Complete Guide to Thatching—BereRegis Church—Humorous Norman Carvings—Sepulchreof the Turbervilles—Outline of Hardy's Tess—ATurberville Tradition—The First of the Turbervilles—Bryant'sPuddle—The Old Turberville Manor House—Descendantsof the Illegitimate Turbervilles—A FlagrantPoacher—The Tyrant of the Tudor Inn—Hodge theeternally efficient—Hardy's Tess and Wellbridge ManorHouse—Tess's Ancestors—Smoke Pence—Superstitionand Shrewdness mingled in the Rustic—"Old Gover"—TheStory of the Turberville Coach—Bindon Abbey—Tess—A Sinister Old Wood

VIII.	ROUND AND ABOUT WEYMOUTH	[147]
	Weymouth and Melcombe Regis—Rivalry of the OldBoroughs—George III.—The Sands—Uncle Benjy andInflated Prices—Sandsfoot Castle—Weymouth Localitiesin The Trumpet Major—The Dynasts—The DorsetRustic and Boney—The Girls of Budmouth—The "Naplesof England"—Mr Harper on the Hardy Country—GeorgianHouses—The Realest Things—InterestingRelics—Preston—Sutton Poyntz—The TrumpetMajor—Overcombe Mill—To keep Dorset fair—ASoldier Poet—Bincombe—Racy Saxon Speech—Hardyon Wessex Words—Poxwell—Owermoigne—LulworthCove—Portisham—Admiral Hardy—Abbotsbury

IX.	POOLE	[163]
	Poole Harbour—The Quay—An English Buccaneer—Brownsea—Lytchett—"Toplease his Wife"—An Enjoyable Coast Ramble

X.	SWANAGE AND CORFE CASTLE	[168]
	Kingsley's Description of Swanage—Tilly Whim—ThomasHardy's "Knollsea"—The Quarry Folk—AMediæval Trades Guild—Old Dorset Family Names—Marryingthe Land—High Street at Swanage—QuaintHouses and a Mill-Pond—St Mary's Church—NewtonManor—Studland—The Agglestone—Langton Matravers—Kingston—EnckworthCourt—Corfe—The GreyhoundHotel—An Elizabethan Manor-House—Corfe Church—ABrave Good Chest—Curfew—Churchwardens and theDegrees of Inebriation—Reward for killing a Fox—LonelyKingdom of an Inn—Wareham—Wild Life on theFrome—Wareham once a Port—The "Bloody Bank"—Peterof Pomfret—Meaning of the Name Wareham—BishopCating—St Mary's Church—"Black Bear" and"Red Lion"—Chapel of St Martin

XI.	MY ADVENTURE WITH A MERRY ROGUE	[191]
	My Sentimentalism over old Inns, old Ale and oldDrinking Vessels—Morcombe Lake—"Dorset Knobs"—TheLonely Singer—The Leather Black Jack—Sleepingwith Miss Green—Lyme Regis—The Curiosity Shop—"TheSpirit of the Artist and the Soul of a Rogue"—We are all Rogues!

XII.	THE DEVON AND DORSET BORDERLAND	[207]
	Stirring Events—Duke of Monmouth—New Inn—Youthbeckons with Magic Poignancy—Smuggling Days—BuddleRiver Manners—The Cobb—Granny's Teeth—BuddleBridge—Town Hall—Henry Fielding—Church ofSt Michael—Broad Street—The Master Smith of Lyme—M'NeillWhistler—Old Songs—Beware of Late Shooting—Axminster—GeorgeInn—Musbury—Colyton—KnightlyPoles—"Little Choke-Bone"—The Courtenays—ARare British Flower—Lambert's Castle—Charmouth—Charles II.

XIII.	RAMBLES AROUND BRIDPORT	[230]
	Toller of the Pigs—Noble Windows—Whyford Eagle—ACurious Tympanum—A Remarkable Oven—Rampisham—"TheTiger's Head"—Cross-in-Hand—Alec D'Urberville—Batcombe—ConjuringMinterne—The Conjurer ofBygone Days—Hardy's Story, "The Withered Arm"—Minterne'sTomb—Kipling and a Sussex "Conjurer"—Bridport—CharlesII.—Hardy's Fellow Townsmen—"GreyhoundHotel"—A Lover of Horses—"BuckyDoo"—"The Bull" and Thomas Hardy—Footpath toWest Bay—The Chesil Beach—The "Anchor Inn" at Seatown

XIV.	ROUND ABOUT BEAMINSTER	[244]
	Toller of the Pigs—Noble Windows—Whyford Eagle—ACurious Tympanum—A Remarkable Oven—Rampisham—"TheTiger's Head"—Cross-in-Hand—Alec D'Urberville—Batcombe—ConjuringMinterne—The Conjurer ofBygone Days—Hardy's Story, "The Withered Arm"—Minterne'sTomb—Kipling and a Sussex "Conjurer"—Bridport—CharlesII.—Hardy's Fellow Townsmen—"GreyhoundHotel"—A Lover of Horses—"BuckyDoo"—"The Bull" and Thomas Hardy—Footpath toWest Bay—The Chesil Beach—The "Anchor Inn" at Seatown

	A GLOSSARY OF WEST-COUNTRY PROVINCIALISMS	[249]
	Chosen in part from Notes and Queries; Akermann'sWiltshire Glossary; The Peasant Speech of Devon, bySarah Hewett; Crossing's Folk Rhymes of Devon; TheSaxon-English, by W. Barnes; The Works of ThomasHardy; and many Sources not generally known

ILLUSTRATIONS

Birthplace of Thomas Hardy	[Frontispiece]
	FACING PAGE
Stocks at Tollard Royal	[34]
The Green Dragon at Barford St Martin	[38]
The Giant, Cerne Abbas	[92]
Bingham's Melcombe	[100]
Hurdle-making at Bere Regis	[126]
Woolbridge House	[136]
Corfe Castle, 1865	[160]
The Famous Tillywhim Caves, 1860	[170]
Corfe Castle, 1860	[176]
The Lonely Singer	[194]
The River Buddle, Lyme Regis	[202]
The Master Smith of Lyme Regis	[218]
Drake Memorial at Musbury	[222]

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS