Gads Hill Place

Gad's Hill Place in Higham, Kent, sometimes spelt Gadshill Place, was the dream house of Charles Dickens, the most successful British author of his generation.

Charles Dickens first saw the mansion when he was 9 years old in 1821, and told his father that he wanted to live there some day. His father told him that if he worked hard enough, his dream could come true. Thirty six years later, after Dickens had risen to fame and wealth, his dream did come true. He lived there until his death in 1870.

Dickens wrote many of his later works in the summer house in the grounds surrounding it. It has been preserved and moved to Rochester as a memorial to the writer.

In 1924 the house became Gad's Hill School. The school remains today.

In June 2008 the house was shown in the Channel 4 TV docudrama [http://www.gadshill.org/docs/news/newsdetails.php?recordID=114 Dickens' Secret Lover] , presented by actor Charles Dance, on Dickens' possible affair with the actress Nelly Ternan during the last 13 years of his life.