What lovely weather we had for the summer Dickens Festival.  I was so glad it was not wet, but I did feel the heat a bit.. The Friends’ stall was in the craft fair in the castle gardens.  We had the use of a gazebo loaned by the Rochester City Centre Forum, so many thanks to them.  Being dark red it rather warmed us up sitting underneath it, so a pretty tablecloth as a back drop and a white tablecloth as a fly sheet, served to keep it a little cooler.

​Back in the autumn, our Chairman, Sue, provided a number of English bluebell bulbs.  They were planted on October, and this spring the first ones to survive the transplanting ordeal have come up. We hope that they will flourish in their new home under the magnificent beech tree by the entrance gate to the garden.  

Over two evening in April the house was open after hours for those who wished to see progress on uncovering the wall paintings on the 2nd floor.  Tom Organ, the conservator, took us through the various processes of picking off the many layers of paint without damaging the painted plaster beneath. 

​From time to time the Friends receive requests to help with developing the visitor attraction at the house, and to support the officers in working through improvements and additions to the visitor experience.  One such development is a display in one of the rooms, to give an idea of what tools and implements would have been used in a 16th century kitchen.