Charles Dickens Rochester chalet gets £240k repair grant

The chalet where Charles Dickens wrote his last work is set to receive a £240,000 lottery grant for its restoration.

The Grade I listed building in the gardens of Eastgate House, just off Rochester High Street, is more than 160 years-old and in fragile condition, Medway Council said.

The project plans to restore the chalet, creating a setting inspired by part of the garden at his home in Gad’s Hill, Higham, before opening it to the public.

The council said the project would “shine a light on this comparatively lesser known, but equally special part of the great author’s story”.

As well as the National Lottery Heritage Fund money, a further £40,000 is being contributed by Medway Council, and the Rochester and Chatham branch of the Dickens Fellowship are giving £5,000.

Working in partnership with Friends of Eastgate House, heritage experts, and local cultural organisations, the council said it would develop an inclusive programme involving residents, schools, and visitors.

If development plans are successful, further funding of £1.2m from the Heritage Fund will be unlocked, the council said.

The chalet was given to Dickens as a present from an actor friend, Charles Fechter, in 1864.

He used the property to write novels including Our Mutual Friend, The Uncommercial Traveller, and his final, unfinished work, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

He also used it to rehearse for public appearances. It is believed the second floor was lined with mirrors for this, the council said.

The day he died, on 9 June, 1870, Dickens was working inside on The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

According to the council, which dubbed it a “Victorian flat pack”, it arrived at Higham Railway Station on Christmas Eve 1864, in 94 pieces packed into 58 boxes.