Thomas Hardy's Wessex: Melbury Osmond

Once again, in Melbury Osmond, Hardy's model for 'Great Hintock' (some would say 'Little Hintock') in 'The Woodlanders', I found myself focused on a village church:

However, it was fitting that I focused on the church of St. Osmund as it may be viewed as "the setting for the last scene in 'The Woodlanders' where Marty South is a solitary loyal figure at Giles Winterbourne's grave" (Margaret Marande, 'The Hardy Way' page 120).

The grave below from St. Osmund's is how I imagine Giles Winterbourne's grave must've looked like in Hardy's eye:

Have just read about Hardy's grandmother, Elizabeth Swetman getting married to George Hand in this church, and from this marriage, the fifth of the seven children, Jemima, being destined to become the mother of Thomas Hardy.

Have also just read that Jemima Hardy was baptised and married here, with her marriage certificate being visible on a wall inside the church ('The Hardy Way' page 119).  Unfortunately, I arrived in Melbury Osmond just before sundown and the church was already locked up, so I didn't get to see Jemima Hardy's marriage certificate.

Despite taking note of the church of St. Osmund,  I missed out on a lot of other things of Hardy significance in Melbury Osmond.

For example, I probably passed without noticing 1, Barton Hill Cottages where Jemima Hardy was born and spent her childhood; passed Monmouth Cottage without realising it was once the home of Hardy's maternal ancestors and the model setting for 'The Duke's Reappearance' in Hardy's 'A Changed Man' short story collection (which I've just finished reading); and passed Manor Cottage without registering that this was the model setting for Sally Hall and her mother's house in Hardy's 'Interlopers at the Knap' stort story from the 'Wessex Tales' anthology.

Still, the Old Post House did manage to strongly catch my eye:

As did the dairy building below on the outskirts of the village:

One funny last point, I ended up camping on the large village green (near the village hall) at Melbury Osmond for a night, pitching my tent behind a tree in the top right corner of the green as it started  getting dark, and then waking up and pulling the tent down at first light, so as to not cause any alarm to the locals.