What's on

Hardy’s Wessex: The Landscapes that Inspired a Writer

Saturday, May 28, 2022 

to Sunday, October 30, 2022

A major temporary exhibition about the life of Thomas Hardy exploring his relationship with Wessex using literary sources, fashion, textiles and social history collections. This will be staged simultaneously across four Wessex museums: Dorset MuseumPoole MuseumWiltshire Museum and Salisbury Museum.

The exhibition at each venue will be different – in Salisbury it uncovers Hardy’s links with the city and his views on religion and feminism. In the 19th century Hardy’s sisters attended a teacher training college based in The King’s House, the present home of the museum. The college inspired an episode in Jude the Obscure which is one of the original manuscripts featured in the show.

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See Also

What's On
Saxon Broach
Behind the Scenes Tour: September
September 5, 2026
Latest News
John Constable oil painting to be displayed at The Salisbury Museum for the first time in 200 years.
February 17, 2026
Collections
Social History

Of particular significance in the collection are the relics of the ancient guilds of Salisbury.