The Bastards of Blandford

Blandford Forum, Shottesford Forum in Hardy's Wessex novels, is a market town famed for its Georgian architecture. The market goes back to the thirteenth century, but the town was ravaged by fire in 1731. John and William Bastard, local bigwigs, builders and furniture makers, set about rebuilding it over the next 30 years. The church of St Peter and St Paul, although built 1735, is classical in style.