Dickens World

Dickens World is a themed attraction located at Chatham Dockyard in Kent, England. After a soft opening in April, Dickens World officially opened to the public on 25 May 2007.

The concept

First conceived as far back as the 1970s, Dickens World was designed by Gerry O'Sullivan-Beare, who also created Santa World in Sweden and Andersen World, and cost ₤62 million. Designers RMA Ltd worked closely with Dickens World and the Dickens Fellowship to ensure the production of authentic storylines, characters, atmospheric streets, courtyards and alleyways were true to the period.

Dickens World was based around the life of author Charles Dickens, briefly a resident of Chatham as a child and who, as an adult, lived at Gad's Hill Place in nearby Higham. Many of the locations and characters in his novels are based on buildings, places and people of the Medway Towns. Holcombe Manor was the inspiration for Dingley Dell, the house in Pickwick Papers, and some of Edwin Drood takes place in Rochester Cathedral.