Village Search For Hardy Links

Residents in a tiny Berkshire village which is said to have inspired the last novel written by Thomas Hardy have launched a search to reveal his local links.

Set at the foot of the Lambourn Downs,the hamlet was the home of the writer's maternal grandmother Mary Head during the mid 18th century.

The village became one of the main settings for 'Jude the Obscure',after Hardy is said to have visited his grandmother there.

In the novel,the quiet country backwater was re-named Marygreen,but the main character,Jude,was given the title of the village as his surname.

Villagers have now decided to try to discover Hardy's lost relatives as part of their Millennium project,and to clear the undergrowth from the old cemetery.

Ray Rawlings,who is co-ordinating the work,said "It really would be the icing on the cake if we could find Thomas Hardy's grandmother.

"She was the reason he was in the village and his time here is what inspired him to write Jude."

Villagers were given the idea after members of the Dorset-based Thomas Hardy Society attempted to find the grave but were beaten by the undergrowth.

"It was just too overgrown and they soon gave up" said Mr Rawlings."We have now decided to tackle the site as part of our Millennium effort to improve the village."

He said the cemetery was left to nature when the village's wooden church was replaced by St Mary The Virgin church and a new graveyard in 1852.

"Some of the graves are so old that they have been buried quite deep,but we are hoping to find a lot of the headstones and get them cleaned up and re-planted.

"If we can succeed where the society did not,it really would make all the hard work worthwhile" added Mr Rawlings.

Villagers leading the work have acquired a transcript of the Parish Registers of Burials between 1550 and 1851.

A Mary Head is listed on the register as dying on May 8,1779.

A spokeswoman for the Thomas Hardy Society said today "We are delighted to hear the villagers are attempting to tackle the undergrowth in the graveyard.

"We went down there a few times,but there was just so much work.If they could find Mary Head's grave it would be wonderful."