Mixen Lane, Dorchester — Mixen Lane, Casterbridge, in Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge. Source of photograph: the Anniversary Edition, 1920. Facing p. 292. Scanned image (2002) by Philip V. Allingham; text by Allingham and George P. Landow. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL.]
According to the editors, many of whose remarks seem based on Thomas Hardy's Wessex (1913) by Herbert Lea,
Mixen Lane was torn down in the urban renewal of 1912. "Mixen Lane was the Adullam of all the surrounding villages. It was the hiding-place of those who were in distress, and in debt, and trouble of every kind." It was inside the inn called Peter's Finger which "was the church of Mixen Lane' [an allusion to the Church of St. Peter on Cornhill, beside the Corn Exchange] that "the Skimmity ride" was planned by Jopp, the Furmity Woman, Mother Cuxsom and Nance Mockridge.
Bibliography
Hardy, Thomas. The Mayor of Casterbridge, A Story of a Man of Character. "Anniversary Edition of the Wessex Novels." New York & London: Harper & Brothers, 1920. This edition derives in part from previous editions and the photographs of 1912.
Last modified 19 April 2024