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St Mary’s Cottages and the related buildings on the site date back to the mid-19th century, although there have been several additions since then. It is likely that there were earlier buildings on the site predating this period, going back at least to medieval times.
 

The building in which you are staying was originally separate from the main St Mary’s site and stood on a path that once led directly into the town centre. In the early 20th century it became part of the St Mary’s convent estate. For many years it served as laundry and washrooms for the main house before later being converted into accommodation for staff and the nuns.
 

Both cottages are Grade II listed, as is the main house, helping preserve much of their original charm and the atmosphere of this peaceful riverside corner of Dover.
 

The cottages at St Mary’s stand within one of the oldest inhabited corners of Dover.

 

Long before their later use by the convent, this area around Maison Dieu Road and Dieu Stone Lane formed part of the wider historic setting of Dover’s ancient St Mary’s Hospital, or Maison Dieu, whose origins reach back to the medieval period as a place of welcome, shelter and charitable care for travellers, pilgrims and the poor. 

 

The cottages themselves retain much of that older Dover character – simple rendered walls, modest windows and doors opening directly onto the quiet passageway, and a sense of enclosure that feels unchanged by time.
 

In the early 20th century the buildings became part of the St Mary’s convent estate. For many years they served the practical daily life of the sisters, first as laundry and washrooms for the main house and later as accommodation for staff and members of the religious community.
 

The work of the sisters extended well beyond the convent walls. Like many such communities, they played an important role in education, domestic work, and charitable support, particularly through their care for children and vulnerable young people in Dover.
 

Today the cottages remain a small but remarkably intact part of that story. Their riverside position, hidden lane setting and listed status help preserve something of the calm and simplicity that would once have characterised convent life here.
 

We hope that during your stay you enjoy not only the comfort of the cottages, but also the rare experience of staying in a place that still carries the atmosphere of old Dover.