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Beaminster Town Centre - Photo:
Richard Slessor
CCL |
This
small, thriving market town has more than 200
listed buildings and lies at the head of the
undisturbed Vale of the River Brit amidst
picturesque hills. It was once famous for the
manufacture of cloth, rope and twine. Nearby
is Hackthorn Hill and the beautiful Toller
Down.
The 19th Century writer
Thomas Hardy and poet William Barnes found
inspiration here among the Tudor and Georgian
buildings and quaint streets. Hardy
transformed it into the fictional town
‘Emminster’ in his tragic tale ‘Tess of the
D’Urbervilles’.
Nearby are the country houses
of Mapperton, Melpash and Parnham. The town
was the birthplace of Thomas Hine who
emigrated to France in the late 18th Century and gave his name to Hine’s cognac
based in Jarnac. |
