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Thatched Cottages |
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Some years back driving to Cornwall, I took a turning off the A35 to stop for a picnic.
I found a convenient spot under a very large tree at the edge of a wood. Nearby was a small thatched cottage
which just happened to be the birth place of Thomas Hardy, no directions had led me to the place.
It became a memorable experience when I realised that this was the very place which had served as
inspiration for the book "Under the Greenwood Tree".
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Originally built by his great-grandfather John Hardy - this is where Thomas Hardy was born and lived
part of his life.When I saw the cottage, it was a place cared for but not a tourist attraction.
The National Trust acquired the property in 1948, more information can be seen at the link.
Hardy's Cottage-The National Trust
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| The memory of that experience was brought to mind by an article I read
in a countryside magazine. The author retold aspects of her life as a child in a
thatched cottage, what it meant to her, the social stigma and poverty associated with
living in a dwelling which had limited space and basic facilities.
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This is an illustration from the serialisation of Thomas Hardy's book 'Tess of the Turbervilles' - "There stood her mother,
amid the group of children, hanging over the washing tub." by Hubert von Herkomer. See link .
The Victorian web.
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She made the interesting comparison how that same thatched cottage today, had risen in status and value
and represented the romantic idyll of country life.
It demonstrates changes in society's values and how past country life is romanticised and symbolised by
the thatched cottage and nostalgic images.
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