“As homely as a cottage, but with a garden worthy of a manor.”

Sir Frederick Treves, great Victorian surgeon and former pupil of William Barnes. Built in the cottage orné style from a plan by the Regency architect John Nash (1752-1835), Old Came Rectory is the historic home of the poet philologist, William Barnes (1801-1886), Thomas Hardy’s mentor. Amid gatherings of poets, writers and historical figures, how many discussions around the fire of this homely home have gone on to shape the world we know today?