Arts council designation for Thomas Hardy collection

A museum's collection of Thomas Hardy material has been awarded Arts Council England (ACE) Designation status.

Dorset Museum & Art Gallery in Dorchester is though to own the world's largest and most important archive of the novelist and poet's work.

The designation "recognises and celebrates collections of national and international importance based on their quality and significance".

More than half of all surviving Hardy material belongs to the museum, including two thirds of his known original manuscripts.

Senior curator Jenny Cripps said it would "help us share the collection's stories with even broader communities".

The writer left a significant body of work, including the novels Far From the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure, alongside short stories, poems and numerous plays.

The museum collection comprises about 8,000 items spanning manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and personal belongings.

It also includes more than 4,000 unpublished letters and cards received by Hardy, revealing his relationships with figures including H.G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling, Virginia Woolf, Ezra Pound and William Barnes.

The museum said the designation award "comes at an opportune moment" in preparation to commemorate the centenary of Hardy's death in 2028.