*DORCHESTER* - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

It's fair to say that Thomas Hardy is widely considered to be one of England's greatest authors and bearing in mind he lived in (or around) Dorchester for the first 22 years of his life, not surprisingly he features prominently on any visit to the town. That said this very grand statue of him is rather surprisingly located away from the main centre, overlooking a busy roundabout at the top of the High St and is probably missed by quite a few visitors. Apparently there has been talk of possibly relocating it, but to be fair I think statues are best left where they were originally placed.

The sculptor was Eric Kennington and it was unveiled on the 2nd September 1931 by author J.M. Barrie (he of Peter Pan fame) - further information, including a video of the unveiling itself, can be found here.

I remember reading a couple of Hardy's novels when I did English 'A' level - Tess of the d'Urbervilles which was good, but also Return of the Native which was impossible to understand for a spotty 17-year old. A few years ago I also read Under the Greenwood Tree which was OK, but didn't change my opinion that Hardy is a bit over-rated.

Back to the statue, which is impressive in a stately kind of way, mainly because of the large pedestal. It's not exactly a dynamic piece of work, but certainly conveys the reverence in which Hardy is held in the local area.

Overall:- 7.5/10