ONE day in 1875, the 35-year-old Thomas Hardy set out from his home at 18 Newton Road, Westbourne Grove, to pay a call on a recent acquaintance living in West London. His destination, Gomer House, was just across the road from the new Teddington station. Built in 1860, it was a plain, double-fronted property surrounded by some ten acres of garden entirely given over to apple and pear trees, with apricots and peaches along the walls, and strawberries, currants and roses in profusion. A high wall protected the fruit from thieves, aided by a pack of fierce guard dogs…
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