
Maison Dieu
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A 13th- and 16th-century flint and timber-framed building which was once a medieval hospital, Maison Dieu is now a museum housing Roman artefacts.
The Maison Dieu, part of a medieval hospital, contained a ‘camera regis’ – a lodging for royal visitors – from the reign of Henry III, who is seen as the founder of the hospital. For more than three centuries it was a considerable landmark along the pilgrim route to Canterbury and the Continent.
The remaining building now houses a village museum, thought to be the oldest in the country. The collections focus on the Maison Dieu foundation itself and its immediate neighbourhood, and on the extensive finds made during excavations at the main complex and an important Roman cemetery nearby.