From Dorchester, my friend and I walked across Grey’s Bridge – that is an egret you can just see, standing at the water’s edge – I must get a better zoom lens! – and then along a path by the water meadows
to Stinsford Church, where a cosy entrance invites you in ….
Thomas Hardy, one of our most famous local authors, went to services here. To say my friend is a fan of Thomas Hardy is an understatement! And she is very knowledgable about him, telling me little anecdotes along our walk – she told me he used to sit in the seat just below the ornate plaque in the photo below, which is on the left of the aisle as you walk in.
This is the gallery above the entrance, where the minstrels would have played before the installation of the organ. 
We both love to read epitaphs (you can see more in the slideshow of the Ringstead walk ) and see another Dorset Church on my Stourpaine Walk.
and I’m always interested to see the needlepoint kneelers, all those hours of beautiful handwork
gorgeous maple leaves still lingering into winter
and an urn that looks to me like a Nursery Rhyme King with moustache, sitting at the gates to the graveyard
where we visited Thomas Hardy’s memorial stone
his ashes are in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey
Look at the workmanship in the urns either side of a gateway along the path from the church towards the river
heading towards Bockhampton ………. (to be continued)
For anyone interested in following Hardy’s footsteps there are many wonders to see in and around Dorchester, go to the Tourist Information Centre and pick up a Hardy Trail Guide. A must is the house he lived in, Max Gate, which is opened by the National Trust from April to October. And also Hardy’s Cottage, Thomas Hardy’s birthplace, nestling at the edge of Thorncombe Woods, a great place for a woodland walk.
“A Pair of Blue Eyes” by thomas Hardy is being serialised on BBC Radio 4 Extra a the moment : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007jphk
Available for 4 weeks.
Ravelry
Wild Daffodil 
Great post and lovely pictures. It is so amazing to think that Thomas Hardy has actually stepped foot in that church.
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SO glad you like the post. If you ever get to Dorset you would just LOVE to go and visit Max Gate, the house where Hardy lived, now a National trust property AND Hardy’s cottage, which is open to visitors in a much more limited way. I will put the links above at the end of the post. Max Gate is SO full of Hardy atmosphere, you can imagine he just stepped out for a walk in the garden.
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Oh my gosh, I shall have to go to Dorset one day, it sounds very interesting. It would be amazing to see Hardy’s house.
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