Higher or Upper Bockhampton, Dorset. This cob and thatch cottage was built by Hardy's grandfather "Thomas the First". His Father – Thomas Hardy II – lived here with his wife Jemima, whom he met at Stinsford House. Hardy the author and poet was born here and lived here on and off for the first 35 years of his life. He had three younger siblings Mary, Henry and Katherine (Kate). Hardy's first surviving poem "Domicillium," 1857, written in free verse and inspired by Wordsworth, describes the cottage and its location. He also wrote several short stories and the novels "Under The Greenwood Tree' and "Far from the Madding Crowd" here.