Campaigners celebrate after plans to build on doorstep of historic mansion are thrown out

Countryside campaigners are celebrating today after plans to build a housing estate on the doorstep of an historic manor house that inspired author Thomas Hardy were finally rejected.

The 120 homes would have bordered Grade I listed Wolfeton House, near Dorchester, Dorset, which the Victorian writer frequently visited.

The grand property was owned for 400 years by the Trenchard family whose name provided Hardy with inspiration for Michael Henchard, the main character in his 1886 novel The Mayor of Casterbridge.

Wolfeton House, the historic Elizabethan manor that inspired author Thomas Hardy

Capt Nigel Thimbleby with his wife Katharine in historic Wolfeton House. Countryside campaigners are celebrating today after plans to build a housing estate on the doorstep of an historic manor house that inspired author Thomas Hardy were finally rejected

Its current owners, retired army officer Captain Nigel Thimbleby and wife Katherine, are relatives of the Trenchards.

Over 50 objectors, including Historic England and the Thomas Hardy Society, feared the development would have a devastating impact on ‘Hardy Country’ – the bucolic landscape that provides the setting for many of his works.

The proposal was initally rejected by West Dorset District Council in May 2018, but the developers subsequently launched an appeal to the Government planning inspector.

An inquiry took place earlier this year, with a seven day sitting in March and three days in June with additional site visits.

The proposed plans that had been submitted to West Dorset district council

Capt Nigel Thimbleby with his wife Katharine in historic Wolfeton House. The couple say the now-scrapped estate plans would have ‘appalled’ Thomas Hardy if he were alive

The developers, Land Value Alliances, argued that the scheme would bring economic benefits to the area with more than a third of the homes classed as ‘affordable.’

They denied their project would significantly affect Wolfeton House and claimed any increase in traffic would be far less than opponents estimated.

However, in her report, which has now been published, Planning Inspector Zoe Hill agreed the proposed location would cause ‘permanent harm’ to the setting of Wolfeton House.

She wrote: ‘There would be permanent and persisting harm to the setting of Wolfeton House from the irreversible change of use of this agricultural land and from the visual intrusion caused by the proposed housing.’

She also found that the development would ‘significantly impact’ on the enjoyment of walkers using rights of way in the area.

The planning inspector’s findings have been welcomed by protesters, who have described it as ‘the end of a nightmare’.

Thomas Hardy (left) and Downton Abbey creator Lord Fellowes who added his voice to campaigners trying to stop a development in the area that inspired on of his novels

The developers, Land Value Alliances, argued that the scheme would bring economic benefits to the area with more than a third of the homes classed as ‘affordable’

Mrs Thimbleby said: ‘We are delighted and the whole village will be relieved. This is the end of a nightmare.

‘It would have been terrible had the development been approved as it would have spoiled the tranquillity of the environs of the house.

‘We had a lot of support from the village and we are all very pleased. You could describe it as an early Christmas present.’

Hardy would have walked across the green fields the houses would have been built on to reach Wolfeton House.

As well as the Mayor of Casterbridge, the manor was also the inspiration for his short story The Lady Penelope, which was based on Lady Penelope Darcy who married all three of her suitors including Sir George Trenchard.

Before Hardy’s time, Wolfeton House was visited by Sir Walter Raleigh and King George III during his stays to nearby Weymouth.

And in the 16th century it provided safe refuge for Archduke Philip of Austria and his Spanish wife Joanna of Castile after their ship was forced into Weymouth harbour by storms.

The historic Grade I listed Elizabethan manor, Wolfeton House, that inspired Thomas Hardy is no longer under threat from plans to build 120 houses in a neighbouring field

The gatehouse of Wolfeton is currently let out to holidaymakers by the Landmark Trust and the main residence is open to the public three days a week from June to September.

Tony Fincham, chairman of the Hardy Society, said: ‘We are exteremly pleased and hope this will be the end of it.

‘It’s wholly appropriate the plan was rejected.

‘We objected on the grounds that Wolfeton House features in one of Hardy’s short stories and the front of the house is very much as he described it then.

‘This development was within the curtilage of the house. If you fill in every field around Dorchester you’ll ruin the landscape Hardy described and spoil it for future generations.

‘Hopefully this ruling sets a positive precedent for other applications which would harm the Hardy landscape.’

Alistair Chisholm, who does Thomas Hardy walking tours, added: ‘I’m delighted the inspector among other factors considered the importance of the Thomas Hardy connection.

‘While you can’t preserve every single place he mentions, this site with its proximity to Wolfeton House was particularly important as Hardy undoubtedly got inspiration for the name of Michael Henchard from the Trenchards who lived there.’

 

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