H  a  r  d  y  `s
M  o  n  u  m  e  n  t







Travel around this part of Dorset and you cannot fail to find a reference to Dorset`s greatest author:- Thomas Hardy. You will therefore be forgiven if you travel to Portesham and assume the Hardy of this monument, and the author, are one and the same.
Clear your mind of this reference and think of another Hardy, ...not a 1920`s silent film star with a partner called Laurel, instead think of Lord Nelson..."kiss me Hardy",....Battle of Trafalgar, 1805 and all that.












Battle Of Trafalgar
Vice Admiral, Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, to give his full name lived in the village of Portesham a mile or so away. He would probably not have been remembered, if not for Lord Nelson`s last words as he lay dying, at the Battle of Trafalgar.
It is generally reckoned that the words spoken were "kismet Hardy", 'kismet' coming from the Arabic word 'qismah', meaning fate or lot, or maybe they did like one another, who knows.


Anyway this monument sited at 770 feet above sea level was erected in 1844, 5 years after Hardy`s death, at a cost of £450. The unusual 70 foot tall design was the work of Arthur Henry Acland, who had this octagonal structure built out of the local Portland stone. Access to the top is via 121 steps that wind their way up the central spiral stairway, the little light available, coming from narrow 'arrow slits' let into the walls.
The view from the top is stunning on a clear day, but try to avoid a windy day, or else take a parachute with you, as you are very exposed.





Refurbishment
The monument has recently been refurbished at a cost of £175,000, after being purchased by the National Trust in 1938 for the sum of £15, from Croye Estates Ltd. Access to the top is via this spiral stairway. but the climb is worth it at the end, just for the magnificent view of Dorset all around you.










Visiting:-

The monument is open throughout the summer, and the entrance fee was a modest £1 in the summer of 2000.

Co-Ords: 361301 087601 / SY 613876  

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