By Fatma Younis
A Swiss chalet where Charles Dickens wrote several of his later novels, including his final unfinished work The Mystery of Edwin Drood, has been placed on Historic England’s latest heritage at risk register. The Grade I-listed building, now in the gardens of Eastgate House in Rochester, Kent, suffers from timber decay and structural instability that prevent public access.
Chalet history and condition
The two-storey chalet was originally a Christmas gift to Dickens in 1864 and stood in his garden at Gads Hill Place in Higham before being moved to its current location in the 1960s. Historic England flagged the structure due to concerns about its deteriorating timbers and the need for repair.
Other sites added to the register
Hall’s Croft in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, the 17th-century home of William Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna and her husband Dr John Hall, was also added because of major conservation challenges, including damage from a vehicle collision. Hastings Castle in East Sussex, one of the first castles built by William the Conqueror and depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, faces vulnerability from coastal erosion. A large area of moorland in Fylingdales, North Yorkshire, damaged by a wildfire last year that affected scheduled monuments, listed buildings and peatlands, is another new entry.
Sites removed after restoration
Several sites have been taken off the register following successful conservation work. The Jenner Hut in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, where Edward Jenner conducted the first smallpox vaccinations in 1796, was saved with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Newlyn Harbour in Cornwall, the Loftus conservation area in Cleveland and Redcar, the Severn Wharf Building in Shropshire, and Wolterton Hall Park and Gardens in Norfolk have also been removed after repairs.
Government funding and minister’s statement
Heritage minister Baroness Twycross welcomed the progress but warned of ongoing pressures from ageing buildings and extreme weather. She highlighted the government’s £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere Fund, which supports efforts to save more than 1,000 arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings across England. Medway Council has secured a £240,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, plus council and Dickens Fellowship contributions, to develop restoration plans for Dickens’ chalet.
