Max Gate is the town house in Dorchester that Thomas Hardy, an architect by training, designed for himself between 1883 and 1885 and lived in until his death in 1928, writing Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Jude the Obscure and much of his poetry here. He named it after a nearby tollgate keeper, Henry Mack, whose crossing was known as Mack's Gate, and digging the foundations revealed a late Neolithic enclosure, now a scheduled monument. His possessions were dispersed before the National Trust acquired it, so the rooms are furnished to evoke his working life; the walled garden he planted with tall trees for privacy is much as he left it, with the sundial he designed on the east tower. Reviewers value the volunteers' anecdote-filled guided tours, with free time to wander the house and garden afterwards. Tips from visitors: book a timed ticket ahead, and pair the visit with Hardy's Cottage, his birthplace at Bockhampton. There is no car park or cafe; parking is on the street.
