17th March 2008

Philistine Development by Restoration House
The owners of Restoration House in Rochester have issued the following plea to the Fellowship:

"A multi-storey housing development is now being built on land adjacent to the south boundary of Restoration House, immortalised by Dickens as Miss Havisham's house. The site being developed incorporates the Woodhams Brewery site, its proximity very likely the inspiration for the recurrent references to the brewery throughout Great Expectations.

The beautiful garden of Restoration House is daily being overshadowed by the rise of 39 houses and flats, some only 18 inches from the south wall and towering over that wall by more than 2 storeys.

That such a development was given planning permission is a shock in itself but worse while clearing the site a stunning Tudor wall was uncovered. Made of flint and chalk with a diaper of Tudor bricks creating a running diamond pattern across its face it was no sooner uncovered than the developer began to demolish it. Only the vigilance of the owners of Restoration House prevented its total destruction. Condition 7 of the planning consent for the site required a full archaeological survey 'to protect the archaeological interest'. This was never done. None of the local Conservation Officers had seen the wall and the Kent County Council archaeologist also failed to note it.

Due to our efforts the remainder of the wall has now been Listed by English Heritage and what has become clear is that this wall provides irrefutable evidence of a lost Tudor garden on a lavish scale serving the nucleus of ancient buildings which have now evolved into Restoration House. As such it is important, significant and most of all beautiful.

More information and pictures are available at www.restorationhouse.co.uk and then clicking on Save The Tudor Wall.

Some years ago the worldwide Dickens Fellowship successfully assisted us to stave off another development, that to the North of the garden.
WE NOW APPEAL TO THE WORLDWIDE MEMBERSHIP TO SUPPORT US ONCE MORE.

With thanks,

Robert Tucker and Jonathan Wilmot"

28th February 2008 (revised 4th March)

Dickens Day 2008 The theme of this year's Dickens Day, to be held at Birkbeck College London, is 'Dickens and After: Stage, Screen, Page ...'. Laura Marcus, Miriam Margolyes and Michael Eaton will be keynote speakers. The organisers invite proposals for 20-minute papers on any aspect of the theme. Click here for details.

28th February 2008

Elizabeth Dickens
It is with sadness that we report that Elizabeth Dickens, widow of Cedric, died on Saturday 23rd February, aged 95. She had been in poor health for some time but died peacefully in her sleep. The funeral will be in Castleton Church, Sherborne, Dorset at 11.30 on Wednesday 5 March, followed by a family cremation.

26th October 2007

Dickens Journals Online
An item has been added to the Web Links page for the Dickens Journals Online project, which is designed to put Dickens's Household Words and All the Year Round online by 2012. Based at the University of Buckingham and supported by the Fellowship, the project is led by Dr John Drew. Details can be found at www.buckingham.ac.uk/djo.

31st May 2007

Dickens World
The opening of Dickens World at Chatham in Kent (UK) has been given considerable publicity in the UK and elsewhere. The centre's website is to be found at: www.dickensworld.co.uk.