The Empty Chair

When the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay,
And the May month flaps its glad green leaves
like wings,
Delicate-filmed as new-spun silk, will the
neighbours say,
"He was a man who used to notice such things"?
Afterwards, by Thomas Hardy

This is Hardy's study at Max Gate, the house in Dorchester which was his final home. It's only been easily accessible to the public in the last couple of years, so we wanted to make the most of the opportunity to visit. Many of his possessions were dispersed before the National Trust acquired the property, but to be able to sit at his desk and see the same view he would have looked at as he composed his novels and poems is a very memorable experience.