Arriving in Bridport

After a very pleasant bus ride full of countryside (very kindly described in detail by a local musician who I met on the bus) from Dorchester, I arrived in Bridport, famous for rope-making, of course.

First saw the Bull Hotel:

Then, the Unitarian church across the road:

Had a nice chat with an old man about different Christian denominations in front of the church.

Then saw the wonderful Town Hall:

Have just read that the Town Hall is a listed building dating back to 1786.

In The Hardy Way: A 19th Century Pilgrimage, Margaret Marande (2015: 132, 136) reveals that at the start of Thomas Hardy's short story 'Fellow Townsmen' from the Wessex Tales anthology, the "good friends" Downe and Barnet ride into Port Bredy (Bridport) one evening, with the description fitting:

      "East Street, the Bull Hotel and King Street, past the Town Hall on the right going east, which
      was where Downe lived. Barnet lived in East Street, the main street ..."

'Fellow Townsmen' is one of my favourite Hardy short stories, it just has the tragedy/melancholia, why Hardy is so powerfully moving.