Saturday 14th October looks to be a lovely day, like the ones we have been having recently,  The Friends' charity stall will be the last one this year due to the curtailing of the City of Rochester Society's Craft Fair by the council, which mean we have lost 4 days of trading close to Christmas.  This results in a loss in the region £400 in stall takings.

So please come along to our stall on Saturday 14th and buy some Christmas presents.  We expect to be somewhere opposite the Eagle Tavern.  Your support is gratefully appreciated.

Sue Haydock, Chairman

Fairies and Folklore
Saturday 11 March to Sunday 28 May
Discover the wonderful world of fairy tales, Kentish customs and traditions, and a few of the house’s own secrets too. Includes FREE Fairy Doors Trail. General admissions apply.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Saturday 1, Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 April, 11am, 12.30pm, 2pm, 3.30pm and 5pm
Back by popular demand, fifty-five magical minutes of interactive fun for all the family,.
Tickets: £12 adult, £6 child (up to 17 years), babes in arms free.

Really Grimm Fairy Tales
Saturday 13 May, 2pm and 3.30pm
A deliciously sinister selection of readings from the original unabridged Grimm’s Fairy Tales, published between 1812 and 1814. Suitable for ages 12 and over. Tickets: £10.

Medway’s Monarchs: Meet King James I
Wednesday 31 May, 11am to 4pm
Grab your crown and meet the king who visited Eastgate House in 1606.
General admissions apply.

Treasured Teddies
Saturday 1 July to Sunday 10 September
Explore the history of our favourite bears and ‘Find Tudor Ted’ with our FREE family trail. General admissions apply.  

Teddy Bear’s Picnic Theatre Show
Sunday 23 July, 11am and 2.30pm in Eastgate Gardens
Presented by Rah Rah Theatre Company, this fun fifty-five minute show features puppets, songs and dancing. Bring along a picnic and your favourite bear! Ideal for children aged 2-6.. Tickets: Adult £8, child £4

Welcome to 2022 from the Committee of the Friends.  We hope that you have managed to survive the trials and tribulations of Covid, and that you, like us, are looking forward to getting out and about in 2022.
 
The committee has not been idle in these difficult times.  Necessity is the mother of invention, so when we could not hold indoor meetings to raise money, we looked outside the ‘box’ and signed up for a stall at the artisan markets in Rochester High Street on the 2nd Saturday of April, June, July, August, September and October.  We also signed up for a stall at the City of Rochester Society’s Craft Fair for the two weekends either side of the Dickensian Christmas Festival.
 
Our stalls, selling mostly pre-used jewellery as well as other small objects d’art, have raised a healthy sum in 2021 which means we can continue to support work at the House. We also plan to attend the artisan markets in 2022 and the craft fairs organised by the City of Rochester Society.
 
At this point we would like to thank all those who kindly donated items for the stall and helped with the setting up, packing up and lunchtime cover. 

If you have items you would like to donate - good quality items of jewellery or small objects d'art, please contact us on [email protected].

Window Work at the House
It has long been the aim of the Friends to help with the cost of repairs to the windows at the House.  A quote some time ago for all the necessary work came to over £26,000.  This is out of our reach at the moment, but we are working on the windows in the meeting room so that they open and close, making it more compliant (and more comfortable) when we hold our talks in that room. There are all sorts of hoops to go through when working on a Grade 1 building, but hopefully the work will be done by the summer.

Display about  ‘The Worthies’
Those of you who came to Claire Gapper’s talk about the 3rd floor wall paintings will have learned that the figures are referred to as ‘The Worthies’.  As the 3rd floor of the House is not yet accessible by the public, the Friends have paid for professional photographs to be taken so that an interpretative display can be set up in the room on the 2nd floor where extensive decorative wall paintings have been uncovered and conserved. A large print will be displayed over the fireplace and the extant wall paintings protected so that the temporary timber and Perspex barrier can be dismantled to allow access into the room. The council will pay for the printing and display work.  This will greatly enhance the presentation of this area of the House, and the Friends are pleased to have helped bring this work about.

Gardening Group
The Gardening Group continues to work on ‘our’ patch just outside the railings, with the help of Norse and Rotary.  Watch out for the crocuses and English bluebells in the spring.  If you would like to help contact the Friends on [email protected].