A packed Dover Society meeting on Monday heard two excellent speakers-Philip Wyborn-Brown on his hero Hubert de Burgh while Mrs Lea Oakley told how she and her husband Chris had restored historic Wallett's Court at Westcliffe near St Margaret's.
Philip related how Hubert de Burgh, born of a lowly family, became one of the richest men in England, Constable of Dover Castle and builder of the Maison Dieu to accommodate pilgrims.
Lea told us that it was possible that Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward II (reigned 1307-1327), had stayed in the house because she owned land thereabouts. Others with links with Wallett's Court including Katherine Parr, William Pitt and the Gibbons family who restored the property in 1627.
Wallett's Court is now an hotel offering 17 bedrooms, a 60-seater restaurant and a swimming pool. Lea and Chris are gradually handing over management to their son Gavin.
