Reawakening the Maison Dieu
Dover's Maison Dieu is now open!
Dover’s Maison Dieu (Dover Town Hall) has recently undergone a painstaking £10.5 million restoration thanks to a £4.27m grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and was reopened to the public on 10 May 2025 as an outstanding events, heritage and community venue.
The restoration project saw the recreation of internationally significant decorative schemes by the renowned Victorian neo-Gothic architect, William Burges (1827-1881), a new street-level visitor entrance to the Connaught Hall, along with improved access throughout the building.
This has created a sustainable future for the Maison Dieu by bringing redundant spaces back into commercial use, including restoring the Mayor’s Parlour as a holiday let in conjunction with The Landmark Trust.
Dating back over 800 years, this is the first time the Grade-1 listed building will be permanently open to the public.
Visitors can immerse themselves in its colourful past with new interactive touchscreens, documentary films and immersive audio soundscapes and book events in one of its beautiful rooms including the impressive Connaught Hall, medieval Stone Hall, Courtroom and Council Chamber. The old Visitor Information Centre and Victorian gaol cells will eventually be reopened to become a café/bistro.
To book an event or for information email maison.dieu@dover.gov.uk or see the website www.maisondieudover.org.uk
History of the Maison Dieu
The Maison Dieu (House of God) was founded in the early 1200’s by Hubert de Burgh and passed to King Henry III in 1227, when the earliest surviving part of the building, the Chapel (later the court room) was consecrated in his presence.
It was built as a place of hospitality for pilgrims journeying from continental Europe to Canterbury Cathedral to visit the shrine of Thomas Becket. Following the Dissolution in the 16th century, the Maison Dieu was subsequently used as a victualling yard supplying ships of the Royal Navy.
In the mid-19th Century, the prominent Victorian architect Ambrose Poynter (1796-1886) extensively restored the Maison Dieu aided by the up-and-coming Gothic Revival architect, William Burges.
Burges later went on to further remodel the building and design an assembly hall (the Connaught Hall) and civic offices, including a range of bespoke furniture and interior schemes.
The Maison Dieu is the only civic commission by William Burges, and the only intact building in England still containing his decorative scheme, furniture, and fittings.
The Maison Dieu has been in some form of community or civic use over its entire 800-year history and remains much-loved by local people today.
Other notable buildings by William Burges include Cardiff Castle, Castell Coch, Knightshayes, Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral, and The Tower House in London.
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Thank you to our project funders
