Information on Historic Rochester, Kent, England
Heritage Britain

Historic Rochester, Kent, England


A Historic Tour of Historic Rochester
Rochester Cathedral

A Historic Tour of Historic Rochester
Dickensian Characters

Historic Rochester

Situated on the banks of the River Medway, historic Rochester has been a stopping off point for visitors for centuries.

The ancient cathedral city of Rochester, with its Norman castle was a place cherished by the Victorian novelist, Charles Dickens, who lived in the area as a child and returned as a successful author. Many of the buildings that featured in his works can still be seen today. These include the Guildhall Museum located in one of the finest 17th century civic buildings in Kent and today is a museum on local history and from January 2006 will have a special display and film dedicated to Charles Dickens; Restoration House used in Dickens’ novel ‘Great Expectations’ as the home of Miss Havisham and Estella and the Six Poor Travellers House, immortalised by Dickens’ in a Christmas short story.

Historic Rochester has maintained much of its Victorian charm – with its wide pavements, ornate lamp posts and buildings of great architectural and historical interest. It is unique for the absence of the usual High Street names and boasts a wide choice of interesting antiques and speciality shops to browse around as well as England’s largest second hand book shop ‘Baggins Book Bazaar’. It is the perfect place to shop if you are looking for that special gift or souvenir!

Dickens Discovery Room at the Guildhall Museum
A special display dedicated to the great author has been installed in the museum. The display will enable visitors to discover more about the author’s life and works through interpretation panels and via a multi-lingual touch screen. A specially commissioned 7 minute film about Charles Dickens’ links to the Medway area will be shown continuously throughout the day in the theatre.

In the Footsteps of Dickens ‘trail leaflet’
Follow in the footsteps in Dickens and see the buildings that were an inspiration to him on a self-guided walking tour using the new trail leaflet. Leaflet available for only 50p from the Visitor Information Centre.

NEW for 2007
Dickens World at Chatham Maritime
An exciting new visitor attraction will be opening in 2007. Visitors will be transported back to Victorian England and experience the best and worst of Victorian urban life, with its cobbled streets, courtyards, markets and shops as well as its murky alleyways, workhouses, slums and docks via a 12 minute boat road.

For more Information please contact:
Medway Visitor Information Centre
95 High Street
Rochester
Kent
ME1 1LX
Web:  www.medway.gov.uk/tourism
Email:  visitor.centre@medway.gov.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1634 843666
Fax: +44 (0)1634 847891

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