More than a year ago, Prince William “broke ground” on a new Duchy of Cornwall housing project in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. William’s big plan is to introduce low-income housing to certain areas of the duchy, although from what I’ve read about the housing scheme, it seems much more complicated than a straight-forward housing project. In any case, one of the duchy’s housing schemes is to build 107 houses in Dorset, somewhat close to the historic home of British author Thomas Hardy. Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age, is the president of the Thomas Hardy Society, and he recently had harsh words for William’s housing scheme.
Very committed to the protection of the architectural heritage of his country, Julian Fellowes has now raised his voice against the Duchy of Cornwall for the plan to build a hundred houses next to the historic residence of the novelist Thomas Hardy in Dorset. That pits him against Prince William, who as Duke of Cornwall has been managing the duchy’s real estate assets since his father’s accession to the throne.
Among these assets are four plots of land next to Max Gate, Hardy’s former residence, and it is there that the Dorset council has now approved the plan to build 107 homes. As president of the Thomas Hardy Society, the creator of Downton Abbey claims that this will ruin a rural landscape that was key to the writing of such important works in the history of English literature as. Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman conceived and written by Hardy at the house.
“The people who approved this clearly do not appreciate the history of the county and the importance of Thomas Hardy to the area,” Fellowes said. “I don’t understand how the developers and the city council, grown men and women, can do that in good conscience. I know they have to do something about the housing shortage, but there are plenty of other places where they could build without interfering with these historic sites. It will be much harder for future generations to understand Hardy’s life and work.”
The Downton Abbey creator has a more or less direct line to the British royal family through which to convey his request. Since 2011, he has held a seat in the House of Lords as Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, and is also married to Emma Joy Kitchener, former lady-in-waiting to Princess Michael of Kent. Hardy had been an architect before he became a novelist and designed his own house in Dorset, where he lived until his death.
I had no idea that Hardy was an architect and that he designed his own home! That’s so cool. I can understand why Hardy enthusiasts and Fellowes in particular want to protect Hardy’s architectural legacy as well as the historical site of where he wrote such iconic novels. Of course, I would be interested in learning whether the duchy’s housing project really affects Max Gate, or if it’s just “close by.” Not to take William’s side, but it does sound like the duchy got adequate permission from the local council and what have you. Like, the duchy isn’t doing this in secret – there’s apparently a major housing crisis in the area and the duchy is trying to address it in a smallish way.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
-
- Julian Fellowes attends the World Premiere of ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’ at Cineworld, Leicester Square, London, England, UK on Monday 25 April, 2022.,Image: 686099542, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/Retna/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng/Avalon
-
- LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 25: Julian Fellowes and Queen Camilla speak during a reception to mark the launch of the Queen’s reading room medal at Clarence House on March 25, 2025 in London, England. Queen Camilla, accompanied by King Charles III, The Duchess of Gloucester, and distinguished authors along with members of the literary community, came together to celebrate the continued efforts of The Queen’s Reading Room and its mission to inspire greater reading among people.,Image: 979410028, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson/Avalon
-
- Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales speaks with farmers during an event for sixty of the Duchy of Cornwall’s next generation of farming tenants, in Pensford, western England, on March 26, 2025.,Image: 979892337, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Darren Staples/Avalon
-
- Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales speaks with farmers during an event for sixty of the Duchy of Cornwall’s next generation of farming tenants, in Pensford, western England, on March 26, 2025.,Image: 979892373, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Darren Staples/Avalon
-
- Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales speaks with farmers during an event for sixty of the Duchy of Cornwall’s next generation of farming tenants, in Pensford, western England, on March 26, 2025.,Image: 979892487, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Darren Staples/Avalon
-
- The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Cornwall when in Cornwall, breaks ground for the new facility during a visit to St. Mary’s Community Hospital, Isles of Scilly, to meet staff and hear about a new integrated health and social care facility which is set to be built on adjacent land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom When: 10 May 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Cornwall when in Cornwall, breaks ground for the new facility during a visit to St. Mary’s Community Hospital, Isles of Scilly, to meet staff and hear about a new integrated health and social care facility which is set to be built on adjacent land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Isles of Scilly , United Kingdom When: 10 May 2024 Credit: POOL/Cover Images
-
- The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Cornwall when in Cornwall, breaks ground for the new facility during a visit to St. Mary’s Community Hospital, Isles of Scilly, to meet staff and hear about a new integrated health and social care facility which is set to be built on adjacent land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Isles of Scilly , United Kingdom When: 10 May 2024 Credit: POOL/Cover Images
-
- The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Cornwall when in Cornwall, breaks ground for the new facility during a visit to St. Mary’s Community Hospital, Isles of Scilly, to meet staff and hear about a new integrated health and social care facility which is set to be built on adjacent land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Isles of Scilly , United Kingdom When: 10 May 2024 Credit: POOL/Cover Images
Got “adequate authority from the housing council”? Well, yeah. They are going to tell FK no?
Our planning laws and systems are corrupt – I know from personal experience. Having had planning rejected twice and advised quietly that a ‘brown envelope’ might speed things up. No one is going to say to the the FK, and there are clearly other areas where low cost housing could be built which would be better suited. Are these properties going to be properly built anyway? Good windows, heating and insulation for eg , or are they going to be built on the cheap?
I want William to be given a hard time, after all the cloying media. He should apologize to his father for all the blurbs about what he’ll do as King.
I hate that this man makes me take Prince William’s side, but these old money NIMBY types are SO obnoxious. Yes’m let’s deny poor people housing so that you and the the 14 other remaining Thomas Hardy fanboys can enjoy your rural literary vista without nagging reminders of income inequality. Ugh.
That was my take on things as well.
Completely agree on all counts, Chaine.
This is how I see it too, especially knowing Julian Fellowes and his take on matters like this. He has a lot of misplaced nostalgia for the past, including the class system in Britain. If it were up to him the working and “servant” class would still be tugging their forelocks at Toffs all the time. He pretends to be neutral on social change and “progress” but it’s pretty transparent to me that he’s against it.
There was actually a storyline in Downton about a plan to build houses on the estate that even reminds me of this. It was resolved with a vague, soft thud, like so many other conflicts on that show.
That’s exactly what I thought, too. I love literature but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse for not building affordable housing, and I’d hope Hardy would feel the same.
While I’m sure this is less “helping the homeless” for Pegs as it is a profit-driven portfolio-builder… I also think Fellowes’ objection sounds more about “not in MY neighborhood” (…but there are plenty of other places where they could build) than infringing on Hardy’s house.
Sounds like Julian Fellowes is a NIMBY.
NIMBY. Thomas Hardy’s legacy can go on while people live near his former home. The house can remain and it’s history can be preserved. Honor the dead, but towns are for the living.
I appreciate historical preservation up to a point. In the SF Bay Area where I live, the wealthy communities that don’t want to have middle-low income housing always use “historical preservation” and environmental protection to stop needed housing from being built. This sounds like the English version of what’s happening in California.
There are no winners in this. William sucks for all the obvious reasons. One of the top being that he’s going to make money off low income people who are desperate for housing. The houses will be shoddy and won’t have any upkeep. And he’ll walk away after maybe getting his picture taken in front at the “grand opening.”
But also, people NEED housing. Fellowes think a dead author’s home is more important than actual living breathing people who are facing housing insecurity. Nobody is suggesting demolishing Hardy’s house or even changing it slightly. He takes offense to the poor being anywhere near it. It’s gross.
This just sounds like Nimbyism to me, especially the part about the need to preserve these vast “rural landscapes” in order for future generations of scholars to appreciate Hardy’s works. Give me a break. You know what also might lead to future generations appreciating Thomas Hardy? If they were able to afford a decent place to live close to where he worked! Several families having adequate shelter is more important ( in my opinion) than one man being able to enjoy unfettered views. But by all means, if his Lordship wants to donate some of his own land instead, I won’t stop him.
It’s pretty rare for me to read anything related to Prince William and think someone other than him is the biggest, most insufferable blowhard, but in this case, I think Fellowes eked out a win!
Okay I had to look up NIMBY and yeah, I get that. Is the land being used so beautiful that any building sitting on it is a problem? What if the homes are built in an aesthetically pleasing way that doesn’t take away from the Hardy site(although I doubt William is spending that kind of money on the houses)? Is it the issue of the homes or the people living in the homes?
So I think what he is saying is that people should be able to visit Hardy’s house and look out over the vast landscape to have an idea of what inspired hardy’s writing – and as a big Hardy fan, I get that. English landscape – moors, open fields, forests, EGDON HEATH – are very big players in his novels. I would love to visit his house and look out over the same lands hardy did when writing Tess.
But……Hardy is far from the only significant British writer inspired by the landscapes surrounding his house. Are we saying that all land or *anything* near where a famous writer lived is off limits so we can imagine said writer’s inspiration process?
so basically I think William sucks in general bc I’m sure this was pretty much rubber stamped considering he is the duke of cornwall but i also think Fellowes is being a little overly dramatic here and a little too NIMBY about this.
Okay, fair point. I have to confess. I struggled to make it through Tess. I tried😂. Unless there is some historical or literary foundation flush with money, I’m not sure how the area around a writer’s house could be saved. If I had to guess, William has not read Hardy. Im willing to bet I tried harder than him though.
“Are we saying that all land or *anything* near where a famous writer lived is off limits so we can imagine said writer’s inspiration process?”
@Becks1, I agree 100%. If there were some ancient ruins there, I would get preserving it, but this is ridiculous. The prices of homes are skyrocketing because the supply isn’t enough for the demand in UK. People delay having a family because of financial reasons. Why should this land be left empty because it was an inspiration for a writer? He says to find some other place, but I am sure there are other problems to build houses somewhere else too. I don’t like Will, but this isn’t his fault. It sounds like he (his team) got all the permissions required for this project.
I’ve just looked up Max Gate on Google maps, and the issue looks even sillier. The house is already hemmed in on three sides by motorways, allotment gardens and housing. The last remaining vacant land is at the rear of the property. Mr. Fellowes succeeded in getting his name in the papers. Full stop.
Oh for heaven’s sake! Yes! Thank you for suggesting that! I was expecting some vast open scenery, but it’s hemmed in all around on the outskirts of Dorchester! You’d have to leave the Hardy house, cross a few roads, to even view the adjacent open fields– all of which are segmented into bite size pieces & worked to within an inch of their lives. Oh, Mr. Fellowes, England lost its historic landscapes long ago.
I wonder who in Workshy’s camp gave him the idea to leverage the idea of affordable housing in Dorset knowing that the “elites” would throw a hissy fit about poors moving into their neighborhood making him look like the one trying to help with this crisis?
I can hear a “source” saying “Prince William has taken this crisis to heart and thought that this would be the best solution, but has been met with great pushback.”
Probably that Jason fellow who tried to destroy Meghan. Shady shir coming from Workshy.
Well, my opinion of Fellowes just went in the toilet.
” the creator of Downton Abbey claims that this will ruin a rural landscape that was key to the writing of such important works in the history of English literature as. Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman conceived and written by Hardy at the house.”
Please. You don’t need to conserve the “rural landscape” that has some relationship to the writing of a novel no matter how important. This is historic preservation run amok and extremely tone deaf.
I already had a pretty low opinion of him just based on his transparent nostalgia for the class system in “Downton.” A nostalgia he has made a lot of money selling. And now there is a third movie coming out, ugh. This is like the show that wouldn’t die. Honestly he is just showing his true colors here. But there’s no denying he is sly about hiding them.
Agree. There are historically accurate books about how servants were treated. Much more truthful than his fairy tales.
I dunno, this reads more like a rich guy crying NIMBY–built it elsewhere, you know, nearer the landfill or bus station or powerhouse. It sounds less like he’s concerned about the architecture than the landscape–which is a valid concern in terms of historical preservation but…people gotta live somewhere & there can be sufficient mitigations to offset whatever harm this housing may cause to the sense of place (if anybody really has a sense of place for Hardy’s home).
NIMBY. Bet he’s a Brexit voter.
I grew up in Dorset, and my whole family still lives there, so I go back regularly. Dorset has an extreme housing crisis, with many houses being bought by people in London (or just generally not locals). They knock them down, rebuild them, and then leave them empty as their second house or something. We desperately need housing for locals, and housing with reasonable rent. I don’t like the royal family at all and really don’t support William, but I think that Julian Fellowes is saying all of this from a place of privilege as well.