Katy Tuck is the latest recruit to join the £10.5m Lottery-funded project to reawaken Dover’s historic Maison Dieu (Dover Town Hall). As the project’s engagement support officer, Katy will support a busy programme of events and activities throughout 2024 designed to engage the public in the history and ongoing restoration of the 800-year-old Grade I Listed building.

Having completed a PhD in environmental science at the University of Nottingham, Katy went on to work at Coventry University, supporting their research student community. She provided pastoral care and built a calendar of activities, including workshops, conferences, and competitions, to support the students' development.

Katy commented: “Having grown up in Dover and attended the Maison Dieu for balls, parties, and orchestra performances with my school, I am so excited to be involved in some way with its restoration. I love working with people and am looking forward to connecting with local community groups to help bring the Maison Dieu back into the heart of Dover.

“I’ll be jumping straight into the role, supporting the Creative Careers Café on January 26th, something I would have loved to attend when I was a student. This will be followed by assisting with the planning and delivery of the Dover History at Night event and developing a William Burges online archive."

Katy has two young children and is particularly looking forward to engaging with local groups and families to bring a younger audience to the Maison Dieu.

Notes to editors:

About the Reawakening the Maison Dieu Project

The £10.5m reawakening of the Grade I Listed Maison Dieu sees the restoration of internationally significant decorative schemes by the renowned Victorian neo-Gothic architect, William Burges, and a new street-level visitor entrance to the Connaught Hall, along with improved access throughout the building.

The project creates 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, and a unique new café in the space once occupied by Victorian gaol cells.

Once complete in 2025, the Maison Dieu will be permanently open to the public for the first time in its 800-year history.

Project funders/partners include the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Wolfson Foundation, Landmark Trust, Dover District Council, Dover Town Council, and the Dover Society.

Brief 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.