Fodor's Expert Review Max Gate
Thomas Hardy lived in Max Gate from 1885 until his death in 1928. An architect by profession, Hardy designed the handsome Victorian house himself, and visitors can now see the study where he wrote Tess of the d'Urbervilles, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and Jude the Obscure. The dining room, the drawing room, and the garden (complete with a small cemetery for the family pets, some with headstones carved by Hardy himself) are open to the public. Admission is by pre-booked guided tour only.