The Charles Dickens Museum is the product of the good will and generosity of many people. When it was opened in 1925, it was the Dickens Fellowship that acted as friend and benefactor, setting up the Museum as a memorial to a man whose lifelong commitment to charity and benevolence endeared him to millions of people. Dickens himself had been instrumental in helping to open the Shakespeare Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon.

For many years, volunteers and friends ran the Charles Dickens Museum. Major bequests and donations helped to develop the collection, notably the Comte de Suzannet and his wife. This generosity was commemorated by renaming the front rooms on the second floor the Suzannet Rooms.

Monthly part of Oliver Twist.

Some of the greatest treasures in the collection have been acquired with the help of our loyal supporters. Volunteers organised many events and social gatherings for the public and made the Museum a bustling Dickensian venue.
The Museum is now run by professional curatorial staff, who develop the Museum to meet museum standards in conservation, education, storage and many other matters. However, we still wish to make the Museum a place where people feel at home, where they can meet and make new friends, where they can contribute to the friendly and open atmosphere. We still need the support from all those who wish to make a contribution, either through donations or by giving some of their time.
But the Friends are also about you. They can play an important part in your life. Our social organisers, who are not professionals but 'real' people, are keen to develop a programme of events that reflect your interests. They are committed to offer you services that you will not find anywhere else, and they would be pleased to talk to you about the benefits of being a Friend of the Charles Dickens Museum.

With thanks from the Curator,

Florian Schweizer