A sprawling country manor that once counted Victorian novelist Thomas Hardy as a regular dinner guest has hit the market for £1.5million.

The renowned author of Far from the Madding Crowd is said to have visited Bardolf Manor, the home of his friend George Wood Homer, frequently throughout his life.  

The historic 11-bedroom property in Puddletown, Dorset, has remained in the Wood Homer family for 131 years.

Hugo and Caroline Wood Homer both died, aged 94 and 90, last year.

The family is now selling the manor house with estate agents Symonds & Sampson.

Symonds & Sampson told the Daily Mail on Wednesday the manor has 'received lots of interest' and is likely to go under offer 'soon'.

'It is unique in that it has been in the same ownership since it was built in 1895, still retains many original features, and has links to Thomas Hardy,' they said. 

Bardolf features a number of period details including fireplaces, stained glass windows, sandstone walls and a church designed by Hardy. 

However, selling agents warn the property is now in need of 'full refurbishment'. 

Not much appears to be known about Hardy and George Wood Homer's friendship, but they likely met through their father and uncle.

Wood Homer's uncle acquired Athelhampton House, one of England's finest Tudor manors, in 1848, when it was in poor condition.

He hired Hardy's father as a stonemason to repair the house, with his 19-year-old son painting a watercolour of the property in 1859.

Wood had a church built at Athelhampton in 1861 and 62 and hired John Hicks as the architect, who Hardy worked for before he became a writer.

Hardy worked on the design for the new church.

When Wood died in 1866 his nephew George managed the estate and inherited it a few years later.

He sold Athelhampton in 1891, but retained the surrounding farmland and built himself a new manor, Bardolf, less than two miles from Athelhampton.

Athelhampton is widely considered an inspiration for Weatherbury Farm in Far from the Madding Crowd, but Bardolf is not thought to have inspired any of Hardy's writing.

The impressive estate dates back to 1895 and is set across just under ten acres of grounds with a separate cottage and paddock.

The house has over 11,800sqft of accommodation.

The main house features a reception hall, drawing room, dining room, kitchen, breakfast room, office and garden room on the ground floor.

On the first floor there are six bedrooms and three bathrooms. The second floor remains largely untouched and provides five bedrooms with generous landing areas.

There is also a separate four-bedroom cottage with store rooms and a garage.

The gardens include a walled garden with fruit trees, a pool house with an indoor swimming pool and a former tennis court.

Stuart Philipps, from Symonds & Sampson, said: 'Bardolf Manor is an impressive manor house, dating from 1895 and remaining in the same family ownership ever since.

'The house is not listed and it's untouched so I think that's quite appealing to people. It's a great opportunity.

'I think it will particularly appeal to people who want to keep horses as the package of the house and land means you can look out of your sitting room window and your horses are right there - that is the dream for a lot of people.

'It is understood that the original owner, Mr George Wood Homer, was a close friend of Thomas Hardy, who often visited the house.

'The house is highly atmospheric and offers a strong sense of a bygone era, now requiring investment and modernisation.

'Bardolf Manor is substantial in scale and offers an excellent opportunity to re-model or reconfigure the accommodation to suit modern family living.'