Puddletown

Originally called Piddletown (‘piddle’ is the Saxon word for ‘clear water’) the village’s name was changed by the sensitive Victorians. It was here that Hardy’s grandfather and great-grandfather were born. Renamed ‘Weatherbury’ it features in Far From the Madding Crowd as the place where Fanny’s coffin was left out in the rain, and Sergeant Troy spends the night in the porch of the church after covering her grave with flowers.

Just to the east of Puddletown, Athelhampton House is a delightful, mostly Tudor house surrounded by a series of separate, ‘secret’ gardens. It’s the home of Patrick and Andrea Cooke, having been in the Cooke family since 1957 and has the lived-in feeling that adds so much interest to historic houses. One of the finest houses in the county, Athelhampton’s most spectacular feature is its magnificent Great Chamber built during the reign of Elizabeth I. In the grounds are topiary pyramids, fountains, the Octagonal Garden designed by Sir Robert Cooke in 1971, and an unusual 15th century circular dovecote. It is almost perfectly preserved, with its ‘potence’, or revolving ladder used to collect eggs from the topmost nests, still in place and still useable.