Charles Dickens lived in several places, mainly in England, with his adult life centered in London and later in Kent. His final and principal home was Gad’s Hill Place, a country house near Chatham in Kent, where he lived from 1860 until his death in 1870.
Main lifelong locations
- Dickens was born in Portsmouth on the south coast of England and spent his early childhood in Chatham, Kent, experiences that later shaped many of his novels.
- From 1822 he lived mostly in London, in districts such as Camden Town, Borough, Holborn, and Marylebone as he built his career.
Notable London homes
- One of his most famous addresses is 48 Doughty Street in Bloomsbury, London, where he lived from 1837 to 1839 and wrote works including parts of Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby ; this house is now the Charles Dickens Museum.
- He later lived at Devonshire Terrace and then Tavistock House in London, where he wrote several major novels such as Bleak House and A Tale of Two Cities.
Country home in Kent
- Gad’s Hill Place, near Chatham in Kent, became his permanent residence from 1860 onward and was the only house he ever bought outright.
- He had admired this house since childhood, and it remained his base while he continued to write and travel until he died there in 1870.
