Six Poor Travellers’ House
Grade I listed Elizabethan almshouse on Rochester High Street with a small free museum; currently closed for maintenance apart from Heritage Open Days.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The house in Rochester High Street was provided for under the will of Richard Watts, a local MP, dated 1579. He left money for an existing building to be rebuilt and extended so that six poor travellers could be given a night’s lodging, food and fourpence each. The work was completed before 1593, and a rebuild in 1604 added a rear stair turret.
The house served travellers for more than 350 years until wartime restrictions ended the practice in 1940. It inspired Charles Dickens’s short story “The Seven Poor Travellers”, in which he appears as the narrator. The building was listed at Grade I in 1950.
Today it is no longer an almshouse. The upper floors are the home of the custodian, and the ground floor is a museum with information boards telling the story of the house and the charity. The house is run by the Richard Watts Charity and has many steps and changes of level.
Highlights
- Elizabethan almshouse building with a Grade I listing
- Story of Richard Watts’s 1579 charity for six poor travellers
- Link to Charles Dickens’s short story “The Seven Poor Travellers”
- Information boards on the ground floor of the house
- Free entry on open days; donations welcome
Permanent exhibition
- The story of the Six Poor Travellers’ House – Ground-floor information boards telling the history of Richard Watts’s charity and the house.
- Founded
- 1979
- Operated by
- Richard Watts Charity
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Admission is free when the house is open; donations towards upkeep of the house and gardens are welcome.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: not available
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The Grade I listed house has many steps and changes of level and is not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs.
Kids & families
- Stroller-friendly: not available
Not suitable for pushchairs because of steps and uneven levels.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | The upper floors are the custodian’s home; visitors are asked to respect the custodian’s privacy. |
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