Beaminster

In Hardy’s novel, when Tess Durbeyville arrives in Beaminster, (Emminster in the novel), she finds a delightful little market town. Visitors today will find that remarkably little has changed. The whole of the town centre is a conservation area and contains, astonishingly, more than 200 listed buildings. The 17th century almshouse, the majestic church tower in gold-tinted Hamstone, the 16th century Pickwick’s Inn, and the charming Market Square with its stone roofed market cross are all much the same as Hardy knew them. What have disappeared are the many small industries that thrived in those days – rope and sailcloth, embroidered buttons, shoes, wrought ironwork and clockmaking were just some of the artefacts produced here. Housed in the former Congregational Chapel of 1749, Beaminster Museum displays objects relating to the life of the town from medieval times to the present day

Visitors to Beaminster’s imposing 15th century church tend to be overwhelmed by the grandiose, over-lifesize sculptures of the Strode family who lived at Parnham House, a gem of Tudor architecture about a mile south of the town. The house was owned by furniture designer and maker John Makepeace and with his wife, Jennie, set up Parnham College and the John Makepeace Furniture Workshops were run from here. He sold Parnham in 2001 when he bought Farrs, a listed house in Whitcombe Road, Beaminster. Here they have their home, gardens (which are open to the public for a few days a year under the National Gardens Scheme), design studio and gallery (check for specific opening days).