Thomas Hardy was born in Kirby Muxloe in1790, he was one of 13 children born to Thomas Hardy Snr. and Elizabeth,his wife.  He was the fifth son and had a twin sister named Sophia.  The family were very poor and lived in a thatched framework knitters' cottage on Blood's Hill (then known as Kirby Lane), on the left hand side of the road as you leave the village.  His grandfather built the cottage and it survived until the 1930's when an out of control lorry ran into it. Unfortunately, the damage was so severe that it had to be demolished.

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How did 13 children plus two parents manage to live in such a confined space, the knitting machine would have taken up much of the ground floor?  Although we are told that Thomas' grandfather built the cottage it is believed that it was owned by Clement Winstanley of Braunstone.  It was rented at an annual charge of 2 pounds 2 shillings, with the agreement that the family kept it in a good state of repair.  The family 'library' consisted of two books, the Bible and 'The Whole Duty of Man'.  Thomas read the two books over and over again until he almost knew them word for word, off by heart.

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Thomas started his working life as a stocking weaver but spent all his spare time, often when the family were asleep, reading books.  He attended St Bartholomew's Parish Church and by the age of15 was having frequent discussions with the incumbent clergy.  Soon he became so well read that he took on the post of Schoolmaster in the village and taught children from Kirby and the surrounding villages for a few years.  However, his studying and reading led him away from the established church and in1816 he began to preach, having become a 'Baptist Peculiar'.  Initially, he preached in private houses but as the congregation grew, he needed larger premises.  In 1817 he moved to a schoolroom on Millstone Lane in Leicester.  By 1818 his friends decided to buid a new meeting room, but in case of failure, the building was constructed so that it could easily be adapted into 3 seperate dwellings.  The Soar Chapel on York Street, Leicester was opened on September 13th 1818, and by 1824 was twice the original size.

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Thomas Hardy was committeed to preach twice a year in Deal, Kent, he also preached in London and many other areas of the country.  It is not known if he ever preached in Kirby Muxloe.  In 1823 his friends purchased a Welsh pony to make travelling easier, but after illness he decided that walking everywhere was more beneficial to his health.  Subsequently, he sold the pony and continued to walk everywhere unless it was too far, when he then resorted to using the coach.  He had some very good friends who often sent a coach for him if he was preaching far away.  Thomas considered a good day's walking comprised of a distance of 17 to 20 miles, he often walked over 100 miles in a week!

 

 In 1820 he married a widow who he met at the Meeting House in Leicester, she already had two children.  As far as is known Thomas did not have any offspring of his own.  Thomas did not drink tea or coffee or even wine or spirits however, he used to say that his wife brewed a very good ale.

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In May 1832 he became very ill with his right eye being permanently damaged.  His subsequent letters to friends talk of bleeding, purging, cold baths, shower baths and taking the waters at Harrogate.  All he really needed was rest.  Although early the next year he was still walking 4 or 5 miles a day, he became very ill once more.  In May 1835, he became ill again whist staying at a friend's house in Stamford.  He died the following day.

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His body was transported back to Kirby Muxloe where the funeral was held in St Bartholomew's Church.  It is said that over 400 people attended, coming from far and wide and travelling overnight.  Thomas is buried in St Bart's churchyard and his wife who died in 1873 is buried next to him.  The Swithland slate headstone is very large and bears an Epitaph of 20 lines, together with other transcriptions.

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Two books containing Thomas Hardy's letters were published in his lifetime.  There are few copies however, one can be found in the LCC Record Office in Wigston, Leicester.

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Much of the information in this article comes from the writings of the late Drucilla Armitage.​​​​​

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