Rod Hull And Miss Havisham

A Memory of Rochester.

I took part in a simple survey of Restoration House in the early 1990s when the Local Authority were considering buying the property from the children's entertainer Rod Hull (of Emu fame). He had fallen into disastrous financial circumstances, partly through his labour of love in trying to restore Restoration House that arguably contributed to his untimely death. My abiding memory is of Miss Havisham's wedding table with cake, cobwebs and all, set out in the very room that Dickens based his Satis House upon for the setting of 'Great Expectations'. The decorations were I believe the original props from the David Lean film of that book of 1946 that Rod Hull had also acquired. The atmosphere was soaked in history - real, literary and cinematic - it is no wonder that Rod Hull must have been seduced by the place. I haven't been back since, although I understand the present owners do offer limited guided tours in peak season and I have no idea if the 1946 film props remain in situ.