August 2025 by Bailey White
Visiting Eastgate House in Rochester is like stepping back in time! This charming historic home, where Charles Dickens spent part of his later years writing some of his most remarkable stories, is a true gem. The house is beautifully preserved, and walking through the rooms gives you a real sense of the creativity and inspiration that surrounded Dickens. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, adding so much depth to the experience. Whether you?re a literature lover, history enthusiast, or just looking for a peaceful and inspiring visit, Eastgate House is an absolute must-see. A wonderful blend of history, culture, and inspiration! I definitely recommend.
Charles Dickens 1812-1870
June 2025 by Richard Bentley
Nice old house with a story to tell ifyour into history
June 2025 by Daniel
This is a lovely garden to visit just of Rochester hg street.
It is where Charles dickens chalet is located.
It is so nice and peaceful here and only ever a few people in here at a time.
As you enter you will see the little pond which looks lovely in the summer with the lily pads flowering.
As you walk through to the second part of the garden you will notice how beautiful it looks with all the flowers blooming.
There is a few benches to sit on to just relax and enjoy the peace and quiet.
Lennys cafe backs onto the garden which is also a great place to grab a hot drink and cakes.
May 2025 by Richard Lillie
Very interesting Tudor house in Rochester
April 2025 by Tom Bombadil
Admission is £7, a 20% English Heritage discount is available and the concessionary admission is £5. I think the house doesn't offer quite enough to justify charging £7 for entry, that's £14 for a couple! Bear in mind that you can breeze through it in 20-30 minutes. Drop the price to £3.50-£4 a head and that's reasonable.
I will say that the house is kept in stunning condition and the Lottery Heritage Fund's cash infusion has worked wonders. The original blue-grey painted walls are featured in all their splendour. I also enjoyed the yellow ochre colour in one of the rooms, again an original paint colour. Many original Tudor features remain, in particular a considerable number of fireplaces/hearths with Tudor brickwork.
I felt the information displays were of good spec and quality with good design, fonts and colours for readability and legibility, but the overall direction of the displays and signage could have been more concise and focused on interesting and salient points.
I personally found the Tudor history the most interesting and the Victorian (& later) stuff was less important, in my opinion. Of course the Dickens links are excellent and well worth mentioning, but an entire room for him? (also the slightly uncanny, creepy and disheveled Dickens model needs to go, it doesn't exactly invite someone to want to stay in that space for long!).
Keep the room furnished as it would have been in the Tudor period. Dickens only took cursory inspiration from the building and nothing more. I also found the murder mystery room a bit of a nonstarter.
They could have elaborated more about the Tudor Royal Chatham Dockyard and Sir Peter Buck's role in the bigger picture of the area's naval heritage, but I felt the building's post-Tudor/Jacobean history was crowding it out. If the museum rebalances its exhibits it could help lift the quality of the experience. Introducing audio guides are a brilliant way of unlocking a historical place and allowing someone to look and listen simultaneously - something well worth considering here.
Dickens's Grade I listed Chalet: Besides the house itself, in the garden can be found Charles Dickens's quirky chalet, where he spent time writing at his home in Gad's Hill, Higham. He spent time writing in the chalet the day before his death on June 9th, 1870.
It originally stood in a part of his garden called 'The Wilderness'. He arranged the building so that the second floor gave him a view of the River Thames. To avoid the busy and muddy road he had to cross to reach it, Dickens constructed a tunnel to go underneath the road. The tunnel still exists today. The chalet was later moved to Cobham and then finally to Eastgate Gardens in 1960. I think it should ideally remain at Gad's Hill in its original location, but to my understanding Dickens's former home (Gad's Hill Place) is now privately owned as a school, but open to tours on select dates. Plans are now underway to make essential repairs to the chalet. At present it is unsafe to go inside but it is hoped that in the future it can be opened for visitors.
March 2025 by diddely squat
We spent a great 90 minutes here exploring this fascinating house. Would highly recommend if you?re in the area and/or interested in learning more about Dickens. Don?t forget to see Dickens? chalet outside round the back too!
February 2025 by Karen B
One of many buildings in Rochester that inspired local writer Charles Dickens. The garden is open to the public and is now home to Dickens's writing chalet.
December 2024 by peter burke
A very interesting place with history wa y back to 1590.
Dickins is said to have written some of his work here in a chalet which I think is available to view,
Charles dickins also mentions this venue twice including in the pickwick papers.
December 2024 by Tony Staples
Worth a visit,
October 2024 by Sandra Wicker
Very interesting
September 2024 by James Clough
An interesting house with lots of history. Friendly staff. Lovely gardens at the back of the property where you can see the outside of Charles Dickens writing chalet.
July 2024 by Phil
I visited on a day trip from London and checked their website and Twitter to confirm it was open. I arrived to discover it was closed for a wedding. I think it's very disrespectful to the wider public to close without any thought for the people who can't just come back the next day.
July 2024 by Lee Ambrose
Interesting old building, not a great deal to see inside apart from the structure and advertising material for hosting weddings.
April 2024 by Stella Smith
Fascinating place, good shop free to enter
April 2024 by pomana smaranda nicoleta
Didn't visit the house today, but until the next visit to Rochester, I took some photos of the garden. ??????
