We are delighted to confirm that Coniston, the main contractors for the Maison Dieu project, completed the works to the building and handed it back to Dover District Council on Monday 3rd March 2025 after two and a half years of careful conservation and upgrades to the building.

The project has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and made possible thanks to National Lottery players.

It has also been funded by Dover District Council, Dover Town Council, The Dover Society and the Wolfson Foundation.

The Maison Dieu will now be more accessible, easier to use and features newly revealed interiors created by the architect William Burges.

As you can imagine, moving back into a building of this size takes some time. We have furniture to install, training for new staff members, paintings to go back on the walls, caterers to get used to the new kitchens and some bars to stock ready for you all to come and enjoy!

The team is working hard to get ready for the opening in May 2025 and we cannot wait to welcome you!

What is happening now, why isn’t the building open immediately?

The Maison Dieu is home to a huge collection of paintings, military colours and furniture.

This has all been carefully restored as part of the project and it now needs carefully unpacking and reinstalling.

Alongside this, our team needs to get familiar with the building, test the catering facilities, install the furniture etc so that we can make sure we are ready for you to enjoy it when we reopen. As you can imagine, this all takes time and we want to make sure we have everything working before we open the doors and welcome you in.

What is happening to the car park?

As you will be aware, the car park to the rear of the Maison Dieu has been used as a site compound for the contractors for the last two years. For a short time, we still need to use the car park for deliveries and we will be constructing a new bin store, which is a planning requirement. Once this is complete, we will reopen the car park as soon as possible.

When is the building going to be open?

The building will be reopening in May 2025 and we cannot wait to welcome you!

How can I visit the building once it is reopened?

For the first time in its history, the new building will be free to enter and open seven days a week.

When we reopen the building in May we have an exciting programme of events organised for all the family. These will range from tours of the new building to family friendly craft activities, wrestling, music evenings and dining experiences.

After the opening programme of events, you will be able to visit the building and do a self-guided tour or book onto one of the guided tours. Please keep an eye on our website for dates coming soon.

Alongside this, you will be able to book spaces in the building for events, such as parties, meetings, conferences and weddings. The new building can accommodate small groups through to large occasions for hundreds of people. If you would like to know more about booking an event, please contact maison.dieu@dover.gov.uk

The building will also host a wide range of events that you can book, from the popular CAMRA beer festival to wrestling, live music, Christmas parties and murder mystery evenings…plus lots more! Keep an eye on our website for the full programme of events.

Most importantly, the building will continue to welcome the community for local events and activities, from school award days to dance performances, recitals and concerts.

During the building work our community engagement team has invited members of the community to get involved with the project, running a huge number of events for all the family such as community archaeological digs, photography workshops and careers cafes.

After we have opened, this will continue and you will have the opportunity to get involved with a large number of free community events and activities.

The Maison Dieu will be a building that is open for everyone to enjoy and we cannot wait to reopen our doors and invite you in.

What will its opening times be?

Monday to Friday 9:30am to 15:30pm

Saturdays and Sunday 10:00am to 16:00pm

How can I get involved?

There are several ways you can get involved, these are as follows:

Friends of the Maison Dieu

A new ‘Friends of’ group is in the process of being formed to support the Maison Dieu and to help make it a success, you can find out more here Friends of the Maison Dieu

Volunteers

We are always looking for new volunteers to join our existing group of volunteers who have already helped enormously with community events and activities, you can find out more here Volunteering at the Maison Dieu

How easy will the building be to access?

One of the most important objectives of the project was to make the building significantly easier to access. There is a new entrance and lift that will ensure that everyone can access both floors of the building with ease.

Can I work at the Maison Dieu?

Yes! We are currently recruiting for the following roles:

• Cleaners

• Front of House Assistants

For details go to Job Vacancies and click on view and apply for current vacancies.

Further roles are coming so please keep an eye out!

Will the flag be replaced?

Yes, now we have the building back we will be replacing the flag with a new one!

Is there going to be a café?

Yes, the old Visitor Information Centre is going to be transformed into a bistro/café. If you are interested in taking this space, please contact Simon Bland at Fleurets on simon.bland@fleurets.com

I understand there is going to be some self catering accommodation in the building when it reopens, how do I book this?

Yes, there is a self-catering holiday let situated in the Mayor’s Parlour. It will be run by the Landmark Trust. You can find out more here Maison Dieu: a new Landmark for 2025

Where can I find out more about the Maison Dieu?

You can find out more on our website and social media feeds:

Facebook: @MaisonDieuDover

X: @MaisonDieuDover

Instagram: @MaisonDieuDover

Expanded Maison Dieu website launched, including blogposts of Maison Dieu history written by members of the research team.

The team take part in a series of festive events at the Maison Dieu and as part of community outreach inspired by Maison Dieu heritage.

Conservation of the Maison Dieu’s impressive collection of oil paintings is well underway, led by Rebecca, Jo and Laura from Rebecca Gregg Conservation. The conserved portrait of St Martin (Dover’s patron saint) is unveiled by pupils of St Martin’s School on St Martin’s Day.  An 1857 newspaper article indicates it was painted by ‘a lady of Dover.’

The Dover 2022 community time capsule is buried. Its contents include plans of the Re-awakening the Maison Dieu project and a ceramic dragon made as part of the Maison Dieu engagement programme.

Coniston begin work as the main contractor on site.

Families of children with special educational needs and disabilities get creative, making stained glass windows from lasagne, inspired by animals at the Maison Dieu.

The Maison Dieu, with partners across Dover district, plays an important role in the inaugural Kent Pilgrims’ Festival, attracting over 3000 visitors to a wide range of activities including walks, talks, exhibitions, art workshops, living history events and a family-friendly pilgrim trail.

In the first year of the Activity Plan, over 50 volunteers have clocked up over 2000 hours of engagement helping with events, research and conservation. In the same period, over 5,000 visitors attended Maison Dieu events and activities. Highlights have included William Burges Revealed, A Maison Dieu Christmas, the Science of Paintings Conservation, Royal Portraits and Sparkly Crowns and Claydate.

The History Diggers team of community archaeologists undertake their second dig of the year, uncovering part of a medieval wall. A third dig in September reveals yet more finds, including the decorated handles of 2 medieval jugs.

Kent-based Coniston are appointed as the main contractor to deliver the conservation and alterations to the building, which will take almost 2 years.

The Maison Dieu linked up with Ceramic Art Dover and Future Foundry to deliver Claydate 2022, a fun weekend of creative clay-based activities inspired by animals in the architecture and stained-glass around the building.

Over 30 research volunteers reveal hidden stories of the building and its collections, including the roles of women and people from diverse backgrounds under-represented in its history. Women’s suffrage and the use of the building for the first Dover Pride are just two of these stories.

The History Diggers team of community archaeologists working with Keith Parfitt and Andy MacIntosh from Canterbury Archaeological Trust have uncovered exciting evidence of the building’s history, including a Tudor baker’s yard, and over 60 fragments of medieval stained glass.

How to clean an oil painting: the science of object conservation was a popular event for local schools and families, hosted as part of British Science Week. Participants learnt all about paintings conservation with experts from Bainbridge Conservation, including how to gild a picture frame and clean a mocked-up oil painting.

A new Maison Dieu website has been launched, designed by Oak Creative and the IT team at Dover District Council, with text and images supplied by the Maison Dieu project team.

Experts from Bainbridge Conservation start work cleaning and repairing historic William Burges furniture, oil paintings and textiles from a pop-up Conservation Studio in the Stone Hall. 

Kitchen equipment and hundreds of other surplus items from the building are re-distributed to over 40 local community groups.

Louise Davison, a conservation graduate of the City and Guilds of London Art School, has joined the Maison Dieu restoration project on a year-long paid internship in furniture conservation. Louise will work as part of the Bainbridge Conservation team in the Conservation Studio.

The Activity Plan gets underway, engaging with a wide range of audiences in the Dover district from school children and young unemployed adults to older people.

Plans to convert the Mayor’s Parlour and a nearby suite of rooms into an exclusive holiday let for the Landmark Trust are well advanced. The Patrons of the Landmark Trust hold their annual dinner at the Maison Dieu and give excellent feedback.

Martin Crowther is appointed as the new project Engagement Officer to deliver a series of events and activities for the local community.

Planning and Listed Building Consent granted.

Urgent repairs are undertaken, including major roof repairs by Clarke Roofing, to ensure the building doesn’t deteriorate further.

Bainbridge Conservation are appointed to run a Conservation Studio in the Stone Hall and a series of community events and activities during 2022.

The project team start to progress the designs to a detailed level and submit applications for Listed Building Consent and a Planning Application.

Artelia, specialists in historic building project management, are appointed to oversee the building element of the project.

The second round application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for nearly £5m of funding is successful.