ROCHESTER

ROCHESTER TOWN – DICKENS' CITY OF GREAT EXPECTATIONS

As a travel writer, I have a passion for visiting birthplaces of writers and poets of the past.

I believe there must be something 'inspirational' in their birthplace that had inspired them to write awesome novels which later became a 'hit' in modern era.

On my visit to London in 2012, I made it a point to visit one of the less traveled birthplaces of writer named Charles Dickens, who lived in the Kent City of Rochester.

I knew little of Dickens except through my readings of Dicken's “Bleak House” and “Oliver Twist”, from the English Literature text books.

MERRY ROCHESTER

The great opportunity to visit 'Dickens' City of Great Expectations Tour' arrive when I was introduced by tour agent to see Rochester in a one-day trip, which promised schedule which included viewing a castle overlooking the Medway, Charles Dickens Connections and the entertaining High Streets, here.

ROCHESTER ARMOURY

The merry yet colorful town, is surrounded with charming Georgian and Victorian setting and Evidence of Dickens' time is reflected in a number of plaques found on buildings giving details of how the writer incorporated the site into his novels, and a walk around graveyards will further reveal the names of the many of his characters found in his books.

ROCHESTER IS CHARLES DICKENS' HOME

The little town not only feature a lot of 'merry making' activities and shopping, in addition it has its share of historical places worth visiting namely – Rochester Castle, Rochester Church, The Six Poor Travelers' House, St Margaret's Church, Eastgate House & Gardens, Guildhall Museum and the Restoration House.

Shopping is fantastic here, where one can see a variety of craft shops offering handicrafts, souvenir, fossils, dinosaurs stones, insects and books. This is the only town which has left behind genuine fossils and dinosaurs' stones for sale, and sure enough I bought one such stones for remembrance.

FOSSIL AND DINOSAUR'S STONE

At the High Street, do drop over the Guildhall Museum which offers its visitor a 10-minuted film about Charles Dickens and Rochester or enjoy the 19^th century prison hulks experience. Or one can view Victorian toys, ornaments and furniture and costumes on display in the museum, including costumes used by the writer himself. Have fun operating the Rochester Riverside Eye, which gives one a bird's view of Rochester. Explore Tool Shed, an exciting new contemporary craft installation. The Guildhall Chamber is mentioned in the Great Expectation.

GUILDHALL MUSEUM

CLOTHES & TOYS USED BY DICKENS

Obviously, the main objective of visiting Rochester is to follow the Dickens' Trail – in order to get to know the writer's livelihood.

 

THE SIX POOR TRAVELER'S HOUSE

I started off with The Six Poor Travelers' House which is in the form of a Tudor almshouse, which was the inspiration for Dickens' short story entitled “The Seven Poor Travelers”. The house was founded in 1579, by local MP Richard Watts to provide free lodgings for poor travelers for a night unless they were sick. The house and beautiful herb garden are open to public.

THE SIX POOR TRAVELERS' HERB GARDEN

Next, I stop by the Eastgate House where Dickens used it as “The Nuns' House” in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”, and as Westgate House Seminary in “The Pickwick Papers”. In the gardens of the Eastgate House is the Swiss Chalet form Gad's Hill Place, which was Dickens' last home. It was in this chalet that he was writing the final chapters of “The Mystery fo Edwin Drood” just before he passed away on June 9, 1870. The chalet was then bought by the Dickens' Fellowship in 1960 and presented to Rochester City Corporation.

EAST GATE HOUSE

CHARLES DICKENS' CHALET

In the list , is The Restoration House – an amalgamation of two medieval buildings – a combination of the late 16^th and early 17^th century – to create a mansion which is also the Satis House of Dickens' Great Expectation, the home of Miss Havisham.

THE RESTORATION HOUSE

The Coin Exchange dates back to 1698 – it has two main rooms The Princes Hall and the Queens Hall.

Apart from High Street, one can visit the Rochester Riverside – to view the Rochester Castle and Rochester Cathedral, here.

ROCHESTER CASTLE

Rochester Castle is one of the 'finest' and 'best preserved' castles of Norman architecture in England, which is also one of the 'tallest' castles in England standing at 113 feet high, which had served as a defensive building and a palatial residence. Today, the castle offers spectacular view over the River Medway and it also runs events such as costume competitions, weddings and tea party.

ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL

Next to the castle, is the 'second oldest' cathedral in England called the Rochester Cathedral, which served as a regular place of pilgrimage for historians and worshippers since it was founded in 604 by Bishop Justus. The present building was started in 1080 by Bishop Gundulf. The first real fresco to be painted in an English cathedral in 800 years is on view to the public.

The Vines is also located at the Rochester Riverside – an ideal place to have a picnic with friends and family.

Rochester's Dickens Festival is celebrated every June, in memory of Charles Dickens.

CHARLES DICKENS' FESTIVAL

 Rochester is a town and was a historic city in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 50 km from London.


JANUARY 12, 2012