Streets full of Dickensian revellers
Much-loved heroes and scoundrels from the pen of Charles Dickens fill the streets of Rochester during its celebration of the novelist
as the first soft flurries of snow begin to fall, the cold December air is filled with eager anticipation. A throng of people, four deep in places, lines the roadside of a narrow High Street in Kent, watching and waiting. The music of a pipe band gradually becomes louder, accompanied by shouts of ‘oyez’ from a town crier. Then there is a cheer from the crowd as a procession of characters in Victorian dress comes into view. Among them is a lamplighter, attired in acid-yellow waistcoat, red ’kerchief, tweed frock coat and top hat, together with a rag and bone man pulling his absurdly small home-made horse and cart. There are men dressed in military regalia, complete with swords, and brightly-dressed women in full skirts and bonnets carrying baskets over their arm.
Mingling among the crowds, however, are more dubious-looking citizens. One well-groomed gentleman, sporting a top hat and waistcoat, and clutching an elegant walking cane, is apparently unconcerned that he is rubbing shoulders with a grubby-looking ‘villain’, whose matted red hair falls around the shoulders of his worn green overcoat.
For this is Rochester’s Dickensian Christmas Festival, an event which has been held in December for the past 30 years to celebrate the famous author’s links with the town, and the somewhat unsavoury character is Fagin. He is popular with the spectators, who point and wave enthusiastically as they recognise him alongside other characters from Dickens’ novels, such as Miss Havisham, Scrooge, Mr Pickwick and Bill Sikes.
Charles Dickens lived nearby, both as a child and later in life. He spent many hours walking in the town, and it featured in several of his books and short stories. The town still has many independent shops, and there are nods to Dickens in names such as Copperfield’s, Tiny Tim’s and Sweet Expectations. “There’s a sense of community that you don’t get anywhere else,” says five-time visitor Eleanor, from nearby Dartford. “It helps to keep the place alive and sparks children’s interest in history.”
The festivities are organised by Medway Council, which claims an attendance of at least 80,000 visitors each year. More recently, the Dickensian parades and street theatre have been combined with the regular Christmas market and funfair in the castle grounds. The programme of events, the same on both Saturday and Sunday, also includes carol services in the cathedral, guided walks and storytelling.
Festival history
The Christmas festival began in 1988, prompted by the area’s Dickens enthusiasts, such as the Pickwick Club, an invitation-only organisation for local dignitaries, and the Dickens Fellowship, which promotes the author’s works. A summer Dickens festival had already been instigated in Rochester. “It was suggested by a group of citizens and councillors, who thought it was a great shame that the public wasn’t more aware of the connections we have with Dickens,” says Howard Doe, deputy leader of Medway Council, responsible for community services.
“The Christmas festival has grown and grown, and we’re thrilled about that. It’s a wonderful occasion, with bands and plenty of costumed characters. Rochester has a lot of buildings associated with Dickens, and we put on exhibitions so people get an idea of what the old Christmases were like. The festival has gone through various changes, each time stepping up a gear. One of the biggest draws now is the vast Christmas market, which was added five years ago. It’s great enjoyment for everybody, which sets the tone for Christmas.”
One long-time participant, and former mayor, Sue Haydock, remembers riding along the High Street in a horse-drawn carriage in the early days. “We used to throw sweets out to the children,” she says. “Then the crowds got so big that it became dangerous to have horses going down such a narrow gap, so now we have walking parades. The core of the festival has stayed the same, with parades, street entertainers, bands and readings, because that’s what makes it popular.”
Costumed characters
As the morning wears on, more and more costumed characters emerge to promenade along Rochester High Street.
Fagin is being portrayed very convincingly by Paul Adams, right down to his prosthetic nose, long green coat and handkerchief. “I get clothes from charity shops and online auction sites, and adapt them, and I’ve learned to do my own make-up,” says Paul, who has taken part for four years. “It’s the start of Christmas for me; putting smiles on people’s faces.”
Norman Munn, a long-time amateur dramatics performer, has been portraying Charles Dickens himself at the festival
“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour” Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
“Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth” Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers
for 20 years. He reads from Dickens’ short story The Seven Poor Travellers outside the house where it was set, rather confusingly named The Six Poor Travellers’ House. “I have to get up early because I need to stick a beard on,” he says. “I’ve got my own costume, with a top hat, black frock coat, wing-collar shirt and waistcoat. Dickens liked fancy waistcoats. He was 58 when he died, and I’m 81, but in the last pictures of him, he looked very gnarled and old beyond his years. It’s good fun, and you never know what questions you’re going to get asked.”
Sue Haydock is serious about her own apparel. “At the beginning, I wore a makeshift evening dress; then I progressed to an evening class, where I made a proper Victorian crinoline,” she says. “I like to be authentic, so no zips. Now, I have had to put inserts in because my waistline has expanded.”
Sue started out with no particular character in mind, but eventually decided on Agnes Wickfield, the second Mrs David Copperfield. “The difficult bit is squeezing into my authentic Victorian corset, then getting the curls in my hair. I wear stockings, bloomers, petticoats and little boots. I’ve got a lovely warm cape made from wool lining and recycled curtains, a muff and a fixed bonnet that doesn’t come off in the wind. The only thing I have to give in to is my glasses.”
The outfits worn have sometimes divided opinion. To some veteran Dickens purists, authenticity is paramount. “It was much more conformist originally,” says Steve Martin, secretary of the local branch of the Dickens Fellowship, which hosts readings at the festival. “People would come up and say: ‘Your button is done up wrong’ or ‘You shouldn’t have a zip’. But, if people go to a hire shop and get an old tailcoat or bridal dress and do a few modifications, that’s fine by me.”
Musical interludes
Music has a key role in the proceedings and, around every corner, visitors encounter a different acoustic environment. The BAE Systems Brass Band plays on the main stage; stallholders and funfair rides have seasonal jingles ringing out of loudspeakers; and the City of Rochester Pipe Band provides the main accompaniment to the parades. The cathedral also hosts several carol services over the weekend. Bell-ringing demonstrations add their own notes.
Rochester Choral Society is a recent addition to the event, and its members lead the carol singing at the end of the festival as well as having a separate performance of their own. “Four years ago, I approached the local authority and asked if we could take part,” says the society’s chairwoman, Kendall Harding. “We have 20 to 30 singers there, and we enjoy it because we don’t have our own carol concert. We get our bells out for Jingle Bells and hold up the numbers so people can join in The Twelve Days of Christmas. The material we sing is usually quite heavy, whereas we can let our hair down with this. It’s lovely to look out and see a sea of faces and everybody singing.”
Street entertainment
At lunchtime, when the main parade takes place, seasoned attendees secure the best vantage point early and strain for the sound of the pipe band as the procession wends its way along the High Street. There are cheers as the parade pauses halfway.
Among the throng watching is an adult education group from Essex. “We enjoy anything you can benefit from in terms of knowledge,” says Diane, who has been once before. “I like the shops, the atmosphere and the costumes. We will look at the market, take photos and generally enjoy ourselves. High Streets like this are few and far between.” She is accompanied by
friend Glynis, a first-timer. “It takes me back to reading Dickens at school, pointing out the different characters. I didn’t know what to expect, and it’s fantastic,” Glynis adds.
In between the parades, there is plenty to keep everyone entertained. In Eastgate House, a recently restored Elizabethan townhouse that Dickens described in two books, Father Christmas can be found reading a story around a Victorian-style fireside to a row of rapt children.
By the town’s old gateway, uniformed members of the regional Fire Service Preservation Group, their helmets and buttons gleaming, are chatting to visitors. “It’s all about the taking part, and I’m pleased to see a few new characters,” says one member, Brent. “It’s a lovely community event, and we’ve made friends with people from all over the world.”
Around the streets, there are stalls selling mulled wine, hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts and doughnuts. Shops attempt ‘olde worlde’ window displays, and some have stalls outside selling Christmas gifts. The lamplighter and the rag and bone man tell their tales around the streets; both reminders of bygone trades. Up in the castle grounds, children scream from aboard the funfair rides, while a queue snakes its way towards the craft market to buy Christmas presents. There are walks around the historic town, which dates back to Roman times, with a City of Rochester Society guide. Rochester once had city status, but has been designated a town since its incorporation into the Borough of Medway in 1998.
As darkness falls, candlelight from lanterns in the evening parade add to the fairy lights strung across the street and pick out the white flakes of snow wafting through the air. As the procession turns the corner towards the castle, the area in front of the stage is already filling up as visitors scurry through nearby streets and alleyways to assemble for a good view of the carol-singing finale in the castle moat.
Rochester is proud of its Dickensian connections, and the Christmas festival is clearly a success. “Every four paces, someone wants to take a picture of us with their family group,” says the Dickens Fellowship’s Steve Martin. “If one of them goes away thinking they’ll have a read of Dickens as a result, then that’s great.”
CONTACT
This year’s Rochester Dickensian Christmas Festival takes place from 7-8 December 2019. www.medway.gov.uk