Charles Dickens World Great Expectations Rochester Dickens Festival Kent UK

Dickens World Chatham Medway

There couldn't be a better introduction to Dickens for children than the themed attraction 'Dickens World' located just alongside historic Chatham Docklands. This whole area has seen considerable redevelopment in recent times, and alongside Dickens World Theme Park there's a huge modern shopping outlet and odeon cinema.

Within the Dickens Theme Park, you'll usually be greated in the courtyard by dressed up Dickens characters. Different areas of this enormous Dickens set pull on the world and characters of Dickens' novels. There's school rooms, prisons, Peggotty's Boathouse, Fagin's Den, ghosts and more. A restaurant, shop and educational rooms are on-site.

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Charles Dickens in Rochester Medway

Much of Dickensian London was obliterated during the bombing of the 2nd World War, but old Dickensian Rochester remains, making it a particularly special pilgrimage for Dickens fans. Visit Restoration House, which not only has Dickens' links as the 'Miss Havisham' Satis House of Great Expectations but also played host to Charles II on-route to London to reclaim the throne. Other pertinent Dickens buildings and landmarks are numerous in Rochester, most of which are marked by plaques. Examples include the Six Poor Travellers House (The Seven Poor Travellers in Dickens' Christmas Story) and Rochester Castle, Cathedral and Eastgate House all mentioned in Pickwick Papers.

The Guildhall in Rochester, now a museum, gets a mention too in Great Expectations. Within this superb local Medway history museum you'll find the Dickens Discovery Room. This fine civic building is one of Kent's best, dating from 1687. The roof-top weather vane has stood since 1780. Note also inside the spectacular staircase and ceilings and the elegant Guildhall Chamber on the first floor which stands as one of the finest 17th century civic interiors in Kent. The Chamber was featured by Charles Dickens in his novel 'Great Expectations'. The Dickens Discovery room contains a special Dickens exhibition with personal Dickens items on display, touch screens, film show and Charles Dickens memorabilia. The exhibit focuses on Dickens' links with the Medway area.

The Six Poor Travellers House on Rochester's High Street, immortalised by Dickens in his Christmas short story 'The Seven Poor Travellers' is free to enter. Originally a Tudor charity house dating from 1563 and founded by Richard Watts the local MP, the house offered free lodging to poor travellers.

The Dickens annual festival in Rochester is a major event on the Kent Dickens calendar, kicking off annually at the end of May/beginning of June. Daily parades in Victorian dress, rides on the Kingswear Castle Paddle Steamer, quizes, stalls and fairs, walking tours and more all form part of this premier Dickens festival. Well worth being in Rochester around this time of year for all things Dickens. See the Offiicial Medway Tourist webguide right for details.Gad's Hill Place, Dickens' last house where he lived from 1856 until his death in 1870, sits in Higham to the north west of Rochester and is now an independent school, so unfortunately not generally open to the public (Tel. 01634 318825 for details). Access for Dickens fans to Gads may well improve in the near future as talks between English Heritage, the school and other parties are underway regarding an on-site visitor centre.

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Charles Dickens Festival Broadstairs Thanet Coast

Charles Dickens regularly visited pretty coastal Kent Broadstairs from 1837. Broadstairs is all things Dickens and Victorian, and the town pays due homage to its famous literary visitor with an annual Dickens Festival and a permant Dickens exhibit at the Dickens House Museum sited in the onetime home of Mary Pearson Strong, inspiration for the Dickens character of Betsey Trotwood in the Dickens novel David Copperfield.

Extensively refurbished, the Dickens House Museum facing onto Viking Bay in Broadstairs is a mecca for Dickens fans, with numerous personal Dickens artefacts and documents (including many letters) on display in exhibit rooms. The annual Broadstairs Dickens festival takes place in late June, with the first Broadstairs Dickens Festival taking place here as far back as 1937. Dickens obviously had much affection for the town, he nicknamed it 'Our English Watering Hole' in an affectionate piece he wrote after one of his last visits in 1851. The festival is as much a Victoriana extravaganza, with all the town dressing up in Victorian finery for the Dickens Parade and a host of Dickens walks, talks and events running over several days.

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Charles Dickens House Museum Broadstairs

Considerable care has gone into the refurbishment of the Charles Dickens House Museum in Broadstairs. The Parlour area has been reconstructed as Dickens described it (and as H. K. Browne (Phiz) illustrated it) in David Copperfield. A large selection of HK Browne, famous illustrator of the original Dickens novels, are on display here at the museum, as are pieces of furniture such as desks owned by Dickens himself. David Copperfield (DC, the author's initials reversed), was by Dickens' own admission his favourite novel, and a fair bit of autobiographical material from Dickens' own struggle in youth was poured into Copperfield's character.

The Broadstairs Dickens Museum has received numerous Dickens memorabilia over the years, and some of the most exciting pieces held here include letters written on or about Broadstairs. Victorian Broadstairs is also dipped into within the museum, with Victorian costumes, posters and photography of old Broadstairs on display.

The Dickens House Museum's links with the novel David Copperfield, specifically the character of Betsey Trotwood - Copperfield's aunt, are of course covered well in the museum. The real Mary Pearson Strong who lived here and was known to Dickens during his visits did indeed go to great lengths to see off donkeys passing her front gate. She's remembered too, by Dickens' son, as a warm character who stuffed him full of tea and cakes regularly. Find out more in the Dickens House Museum, the town's main site for exploring its close links with Dickens.

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Cobham Hall & Charles Dickens Gravesham

South east of Gravesend the village of Cobham is home to one of Kent's finest manor houses, Cobham Hall. Elizabethan in origin, red brick Cobham Hall dates from 1587 but there's a mish mash of architectural styles here from Jacobean to Carolean and 18th century. The house is now a girls school so entrance is restricted (see Cobham Hall's webguide right for open days - Easter is usually the first time the house opens its doors to the public).

Set in over 150 acres of listed parkland, Cobham Hall has had a selection of notable famed visitors including Charles Dickens who passed through frequently on his way to Cobham Village's Leather Bottle pub. The Leather Bottle, featured in Dickens' Pickwick Papers, is still open for business serving fine Kent ales and food and you can stay here - in Room 6 if you like where Dickens is supposed to have stayed!

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