Historic Thomas Hardy building in Dorchester damaged by fire

Property in Dorset town, known as Casterbridge in Hardy’s novels, was where he was apprenticed to an architect

A historic building in a Dorset town where the Victorian novelist and poet Thomas Hardy worked as an apprentice architect has been badly damaged by fire.

More than 50 firefighters tackled the blaze at the terrace in the county town of Dorchester, which was known as Casterbridge in Hardy’s novels.