Downton Abbey creator Lord Fellowes has joined the fight to stop developers building a housing estate next to an Elizabethan manor that inspired Thomas Hardy.
Campaigners say the controversial plans for 120 homes would ‘damage the environs’ of 16th century Wolfeton House in the village of Charminster, near Dorchester.
It used to be owned by the Trenchard family, whose name provided the inspiration for the main character in Hardy’s 1886 book ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’.
Now 130 years later, Lord Julian Fellowes, is not prepared to ‘stay silent’ with ‘Hardy’s heritage under threat’.
In his capacity as chairman of The Hardy Society, he has written to planners at West Dorset District Council to oppose the development.
Downton Abbey creator Lord Julian Fellowes (pictured) has weighed into the fight to stop 120 homes being built 200 yards away from an Elizabethan manor in Dorset that inspired one of Thomas Hardy’s novels
Campaigners say controversial plans for 120 homes would ‘damage the environs’ of 16th century Wolfeton House (pictured) in the village of Charminster, near Dorchester
He writes: ‘I am afraid that, these days, the sight of my name on a letter to the planning department must be greeted by a low groan but as the president of the Hardy Society, I don’t think I really have the right to stay silent when his heritage is under threat. I hope you can forgive me.
‘It is true that Wolfeton House figured largely in Hardy’s life, providing the model for settings in several stories and lending the name of the family who then owned it, the Trenchards, to the Mayor of Casterbridge, one of Hardy’s most celebrated novels.
‘But, quite apart from Hardy, it is also a historic place in its own right, probably the most historic in this part of Dorset, which may have been slightly overlooked.
‘Once the new estate is built, the magic of the surroundings is gone and cannot ever be restored.
‘I fully grasp you must find sites for more housing and in fact you have other developments going on which no one could object to.
‘Can you please think again and find a place that does not destroy a major element in Hardy’s story or dent our local history.’
It used to be owned by the Trenchard family, whose name provided the inspiration for the main character in Hardy’s 1886 book ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’. But developers want to build a housing estate in the field next door (pictured)
Pictured: The field in the Dorset village of Cwhere West Dorset District Council wants 120 homes to be built to ease its housing crisis
The 68-year-old peer, who lives in the nearby village of West Stafford, added: ‘To destroy the context and setting of a great and ancient house is really to destroy the house, itself.’
It is not the first time the Downton Abbey writer has become embroiled in a planning debate.
In 2016 he wrote to planners opposing Prince Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall Estate and its plans to build a housing estate behind Thomas Hardy’s former home – Grade I listed Max Gate in Dorchester, Dorset.
The local authority has recommend the plans be approved, to help ease pressure on the 1,570-person long housing list.
Developers Land Value Alliances argue the estate, which would sit just 200 yards from Wolfeton House, would be 35 per cent affordable housing.
The house’s current owner, retired army officer, Captain Nigel Thimbleby, is a direct relative of the Trenchard family and is not prepared to let the plans go through without a fight.
He is backed by a group of around 100 residents, The Landmark Trust and The Campaign to Protect Rural England and claims Hardy would be ‘appalled’ by the plans.
Developers Land Value Alliances argue the estate (plans pictured), which would sit just 200 yards from Wolfeton House, would be 35 per cent affordable housing
Pictured: An artist’s impression of what the new Charminster housing estate would look like
Wolfeton House’s current owner, retired army officer, Captain Nigel Thimbleby (pictured with his wife Katharine), is a direct relative of the Trenchard family and is not prepared to let the plans go through without a fight
Captain Thimbleby, 82, said: ‘The parish council had voted unanimously against this development and we all thought it was unlikely to proceed.
‘It was only recently that we realised we were being taken for a ride.
‘We have got three weeks to sharpen our pencils and do battle and oppose these plans with vigour.
‘Thomas Hardy was very committed to the Dorset countryside and he was a great walker.
‘He used to walk to the house from his house just the other side of Dorchester and I have absolutely no doubt that he would be appalled at what is going on.’
If plans are approved, it would be the first time in 400 years the surrounding landscape changes.
The Landmark Trust, which was set up to save historically important buildings, said: ‘The proposed residential development will result in present and future generations being unable to enjoy a scene that will not have significantly changed for the last 500 years until now.’
The Campaign to Protect Rural England said there are ‘very strong planning grounds for rejection’, while Historic England have stated ‘we are not convinced this application can be achieved without heritage harm’.
A committee meeting will be held next month to make the final decision.
Before Hardy’s time, Wolfeton House was visited by Sir Walter Raleigh and King George III during his stays to nearby Weymouth.
68-year-old peer Lord Fellowes lives in the nearby village of West Stafford in a stately home called Stafford House (pictured)
Lord Fellowes thinks Thomas Hardy’s heritage is ‘under threat’ from the plans. He is pictured with his wife Emma at their Dorset home
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.
Captain Thimbleby’s relatives the Trenchards were the inspiration for the Henchard family –the central characters of the Mayor of Casterbridge.
Hardy’s novel tells the tale of Michael Henchard, his wife Susan and baby daughter Elizabeth-Jane, who travel far and wide in the hope of bagging Michael a job.
On their journey he gets drunk and jokingly agrees to sell his wife and daughter to a sailor for five guineas.
After he realises what he has done, he searches the town but to no avail.
When the sailor dies 18 years later, Susan and Elizabeth-Jane try to find Michael and find he is the Mayor of a town called Casterbridge.
The long-lost lovers meet and decide to spare their daughter the shame of what happened and agree to pretend they have only just met.
Wolfeton House also featured in the seventh of his short story collection A Group of Noble Dames.
It was the home of The Lady Penelope, a character based on Lady Penelope D’Arcy, the wife of Wolfeton House owner George Trenchard.