What was the name of the country house in Kent purchased by Charles Dickens in 1856?

The country house in Kent that Charles Dickens purchased in 1856 was Gad's Hill Place. He bought the home in March 1856 for £1,790, fulfilling a childhood ambition connected with the house and its location near Higham, between Rochester and Gravesend.

Dickens had known Gad's Hill from his youth and associated it with the world of Shakespeare's Henry IV, in which the nearby hill is linked with the robbery involving Sir John Falstaff and Prince Hal. The place therefore carried both personal and literary associations for him.

After buying it, Dickens made Gad's Hill Place his principal home. He moved furniture and possessions there from Tavistock House after selling that London residence in 1860. He also wrote and revised work at Gad's Hill and hosted notable visitors, including Hans Christian Andersen.

The alternatives are other Dickens residences or strongly associated addresses. Devonshire Terrace was his London home in the 1830s and 1840s, Tavistock House was another London residence, and Doughty Street is associated with the Charles Dickens Museum. None was the Kent country house purchased in 1856.