In 1862, a young trainee architect was tasked with supervising the exhumation of graves in Old St Pancras Churchyard and the replacement of headstones prior to expansions in the area needed for the Midland Railway to run through the churchyard. The architect was Thomas Hardy, not known at that time as the great poet and novelist.
The ash tree, now known as ‘The Hardy Tree’, might have been planted not long before, and headstones were piled up around its base, possibly by Thomas Hardy himself. However, an old photograph that recently came to light shows the headstones piled in a circle, with no tree at all, so perhaps a passing bird left a seed that sprouted. However, there’s no doubt that Thomas Hardy does have a close working connection with the churchyard itself and the piling up of the gravestones.
There are some doubts about whether Hardy is actually linked to the tree. However, it does have other literary associations. Mary Wollstonecraft, feminist and writer, was buried in Old St Pancras Churchyard and later her husband, the author William Godwin was buried beside her. Their daughter Mary was courted there by poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The churchyard is also mentioned by Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities – the character Roger Cly is buried there and Jerry Cruncher goes ‘fishing’ there for bodies which he can sell to medical researchers. Another person buried there was Dr John Polidori, friend and physician to Lord Byron and author of The Vampyre, one of the stories started on a famous night in the Villa Diodati in Switzerland (a night that resulted in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein).
In 2014 the tree was attacked by fungus and weakened. It fell down in a storm in 2022. In April 2024, a group of people gathered at the spot for the planting of a new ‘Hardy Tree’, a beech sapling. There were members of the Thomas Hardy Society present, as well as local council members.
The Hardy Tree was certainly amongst the more unusual sights in an English churchyard. Did you see it before it died? Tell me in a comment.
Selected links for relevant websites, books, movies, videos, and more. Some of these links lead to protected content on this website, learn more about that here.
Susannah Fullerton: Thomas Hardy is born
Susannah Fullerton: Thomas Hardy marries for the second time
Susannah Fullerton: Edward, Prince of Wales, lunches with Thomas Hardy
Susannah Fullerton: Thomas Hardy dies
Susannah Fullerton: Beyond the Last Lamp by Thomas Hardy
Susannah Fullerton: When I set out for Lyonnesse by Thomas Hardy
Susannah Fullerton: In Church by Thomas Hardy
Susannah Fullerton: The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy
Susannah Fullerton: The Convergence of the Twain by Thomas Hardy
Susannah Fullerton: Wessex, a wire fox terrier
Susannah Fullerton: Thomas Hardy’s Ale
Susannah Fullerton: The Hardy Tree
Susannah Fullerton: 5 Unpopular 19th Century Novels that Became Classics
Susannah Fullerton: Thomas Hardy: Novelist and Poet
Susannah Fullerton: Video Talk – Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
St Pancras Old Church: Churchyard History
The London Dead: The Myth of the Hardy Tree
Camden New Journal: New Hardy tree planted
Hardy Society
Hardy’s World
Poetry Foundation: Thomas Hardy
The Guardian: Thomas Hardy
The Victorian Web: Thomas Hardy
Stephen Gow
Hello Susannah. Jane and I were there in May 2016 having learned about the tree from a TV documentary….funnily enough the English friends we were with knew nothing of the site until that visit. I took some great images, but sad to learn of the recent demise of the tree from your story.
Stephen Gow (ArtsNational)
Susannah Fullerton
Yes, it is sad, but you were lucky to get to see it. I never did! And thanks for the photo you emailed me.
Gai Mather
Hi Susannah,
My friend Annabel Senior has forwarded your email on to me, specifically because of my interest in the Mitfords.
Another great interest in my trips to London was the Hardy Tree, which Annabel & I discovered in October 2022. I subsequently returned with other Aussie friends, for them to enjoy this delightful vista in 2023, however it was with great shock that the Hardy Tree was in pieces on the ground!!
It was such a sight, growing up through those gravestones, and I feel so grateful to have seen it in situ.
The significance was even greater as we visited the birthplace of Thomas Hardy and also Athelhampton House earlier this year.
All the pieces fitted together when I heard that Hardy’s father, unhappy with Thomas’ literary ambitions, suggested he study architecture.
I still love to visit St Pancras Old Church & churchyard, but certainly miss that mighty tree.
I look forward to reading your articles.
Regards,
Gai Mather
Susannah Fullerton
That sounds like a fabulous Hardy pilgrimage. I have not been to Athelhampton House and never got to see the Hardy tree in situ.
I am delighted Anabel told you about my newsletter and do hope you enjoy it each month, and can come to the Mitford event!