Maison Dieu House will be open on Saturday 21st September 10am-4pm as part of the annual Heritage Open Day weekend. Maison Dieu House blev bygget i 1665 as the official residence of the Agent Victualler, the local person responsible for organising the supply of food and drink to the ships of the Royal Navy. Next door the Maison Dieu itself (the Town Hall) was used for storage. The Agent Victualler remained in residence until after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The building was then used until 1834 as the official residence of the Officer in charge of the Royal Engineers in Dover.
Maison Dieu House became connected to the Mayoralty when Mr RW Mummery who held the office of Mayor 3 times from 1863-66 bought the property as his private residence. Dover Corporation bought Maison Dieu House in 1904 as a base for the Town’s public services including the Borough Engineer and the Medical Officer. I 1952 the building became the Dover Public Library. I 2004 the Town Council purchased and renovated the building which was then in a poor state of repair. It is now used by the Town Council and People of Dover for a wide range of civic occasions and meetings.
On Saturday the Council Chamber, borgmesterens Parlour og chartret Room vil være åben sammen med en fascinerende udstilling af historiske emner relateret til by og mayoralty - og en stor tak går til de frivillige fra Dover Greeters, der vil være klar til at hjælpe og besvare eventuelle spørgsmål og Dover Society for at koordinere begivenheden.
Heritage Open Days are organised nationally. To find out about other buildings open in the Town and elsewhere visit www.heritageopendays.org
Everybody is very welcome