Dover
Lock and Key of the Kingdom

In one weekend Brook House was reduced to rubble.

 

In the mid 19th century, Mr William Moxon, a man of bold initiative, came onto the Dover scene as the contractor for town drainage, and large works of fortification at the Western Heights. He took in hand the land known as Maison Dieu Park, which had been earmarked for residential building but had not yet been developed. He formulated a general scheme for widening Charlton Back Lane (Maison Dieu Road) and planned a new road across the river Dour into Biggin Street (Pencester Road).

Expecting to make a large fortune out of his various undertakings, both in Dover and London, he reserved the greater part of the Maison Dieu Park above Pencester Road for his own use. It was here that he built Brook House as his residence. The park, alongside Charlton Back Lane, had been bounded by an ancient stone wall, which Mr Moxon demolished in 1860, and set back his iron railings as a boundary to the Brook House grounds. The new road, which became Maison Dieu Road, was 30 feet wide in accordance with the plans drawn up by the Town Surveyor.

Mr Moxon only occupied Brook House for a short time. It was afterwards the residence of Major-General Ellice, Commandant of the South-Eastern District. Subsequently Mr John Birmingham, the well-known proprietor of the Lord Warden Hotel who was also Mayor of Dover four times, purchased it. On retiring from business he made Brook House his residence and died there in February 1875, aged 80 years. The mansion remained in the hands of the Birmingham family until August 1886, when it was sold by auction for £6,000.

Soon after the sale the lower part of the grounds was used for building. A row of seven houses was built on one side of a short road called The Paddock. On the opposite side of The Paddock, adjoining Brook House grounds, a Girls’ High School was built (the building now forms part of South Kent College).

In 1920 the house was purchased by Dover Corporation for use as municipal offices. The last private owners were the Misses Humphreys, to whom the Council paid £5,000 for the property. The Misses Humphreys vacated the premises in September 1921 having negotiated a tenancy from the Council until they could move into their new house. Brook House was then converted by the Corporation to provide offices for the Town Clerk, Borough Accountant, Medical Officer of Health and other departments. On the grounds between the house and Maison Dieu Road municipal tennis courts were laid out. In 1957 a modern extension was built on the back of the original building to house the Borough Treasurer’s Department.

The rear of Brook House looking across Maison Dieu Gardens, showing the 1957 extension.

In the Local Government Reorganisation of 1974 Dover Borough Council was wound up and its functions were taken over by the newly formed Dover District Council. Brook House passed to the new authority and became home to the District Council Finance Department.

The new Council, whose boundaries now included the towns of Dover, Deal and Sandwich and the surrounding villages, was faced with the problem of having its available office space scattered over the district.

This problem was solved in the 1980s by the building of a new office complex at Whitfield, on the outskirts of Dover, complete with Council Chamber. The Finance Department left Brook House at the end of 1987. The house stood empty after this and it was announced that the Council wished to demolish it to build a car park. There was great public outcry at this and moves were made to have the building listed. Then overnight the building was demolished, contractors working on Saturday 16 July 1988 to reduce it to a pile of rubble.

Unfortunately the only monument to this once lovely building is the expanse of tarmac now known as Maison Dieu Car Park!