Characters from Charles Dickens’ books return to the streets for the Rochester Dickensian Christmas Festival 2024
Step back in time and enjoy a Victorian Christmas in the heart of one of Kent’s most historic towns.
Rochester’s high street will once again be transformed for its annual Dickensian Christmas Festival, celebrating the heritage of Medway writer Charles Dickens with traditional costumes and street entertainment.
The writer, who penned classic novels such as A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist, spent his childhood years in Chatham and Rochester, with many of the buildings and people he met in the area inspiring his later stories.
To honour the writer’s Kent roots, each Christmas there is a weekend dedicated to Victorian festivities in Rochester, starting with the Seven Poor Travellers Procession, led by the Town Crier.
The parade will start at the Victoria and Bull Hotel and continue to the Six Poor Travellers House, a Tudor building that featured in Dickens’ festive short story, the Seven Poor Travellers.
Over the weekend, there will also be a parade of characters from Dickens’ novels, a candlelit procession along the high street and a traditional carol service performed by the BAE Systems Brass Band opposite Rochester Cathedral.
The town’s Christmas market will also be in full swing, with more than 100 stalls, a Bavarian food village and a children’s funfair at Rochester Castle.
The Dickensian Christmas Festival takes place on Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8 in Rochester town centre and it’s all free to join.
