Dickens Christmas Holiday House Tour Is Back!

The Dickens of a Christmas signature Holiday House Tour returns on December 3 after a three-year hiatus. Join us to stroll iconic Water Street on the Chester River where our festively decorated historic tour homes bring the gracious living of bygone days into the 21st century.

Six homes will welcome visitors from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, December 3, 2022 in the heart of Chestertown’s historic district and close to all of the Dickens festival attractions.

Custom wreaths by the Chestertown and All Seasons Garden Clubs and live music complete the merry atmosphere of this distinctively Dickens house tour. Tour guests will have ample time to partake of the day’s other fun, food and festivities both during and after the tour.

Sponsored by Main Street Chestertown, the house tour is part of a two-day “Dickens of a Christmas” festival starting December 2 and inspired by Charles Dickens’s beloved novella “A Christmas Carol.” Set in Chestertown’s historic district, the festival will celebrate the season with family friendly live music, carriage rides, food and drink, varied entertainments, two teas, pony rides and petting zoo, costumed characters and more.

Reservations are required for entry to the house tour. House tour tickets are available online at mainstreetchestertown.org/dickens. Following are more details about the tour homes.

Built in 1891 on land purchased by sea captain Joseph Downey, this carefully restored and maintained Victorian house is furnished with both modern and traditional art, family heirlooms and portraits of notable early American ancestors. For Christmas the house is decorated with five trees, one of which is trimmed in true Victorian style, and be sure to sample from the bowl of wrapped candies that were invented in the 1890s.

Circa 1910, this home retains its historic character while providing a backdrop for the owners’ collection of contemporary American fine craft and art, including pieces of their own art glass. An early 2000s renovation opened the kitchen to expansive views of the Chester River, which beckons you through to the large bluestone patio with lily pond and landscaped yard beyond.

Only two families have loved and tended “Miss Minnie Massey’s House” for most of the years since it was built in 1883, including the current owner’s family for 73 years. One of Chestertown’s first homes with indoor plumbing and the first built on the block, its enduring charm is enhanced today by a grand painting of the Louise sidewheel passenger steamboat, vintage duck decoys and other period pieces, and original architectural features.

The “Beck House,” built circa 1904, and the residence of Scott and Mackey Beck for almost 40 years, displays many fine architectural features, including beveled glass vestibule doors, a porte cochère and a distinctive red brick/red mortar combination. The current owners have enjoyed decorating the house and their nine-foot Christmas tree with many personal and historical mementos.

Contemporary flair meets historical architecture in this late 19th century home of an interior designer and her husband, which includes a restored front porch, Sue Tessem painting, original wood staircase and trim and cleverly “hidden” powder room. The sun room flows onto a patio with deep landscaped lawn and garden and the front yard features the largest Ginkgo tree in Kent County.

Beautifully restored in 2007, this late Victorian house is a mirror image of its next door neighbor, although decorated with more gingerbread. The interior retains many original details, including two recently marbleized fireplaces, complemented by an addition that retains the charm of the original house.