Website: None
Regular meeting venue: Our meetings are held on the Third Wednesday of each Month from  12.30 o'clock until 2.00 o’clock at Low Fell Library at 710 Durham Road, Gateshead.
Contact: Chris McLoughlin, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  01429 267270
Alternative: Carolyn Walker,  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  0191 469 0597

Please feel free to drop in as we are a very friendly bunch who will make you very welcome. (Please note the main entrance to the Library closes at 1 o'clock prompt but access can still be gained from ringing the bell at the back of the library at the Caretakers entrance).

Website: https://baltimoredickensabout.com/
Regular meeting venue: The Hale Auditorium, on the campus of Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD  21210.
Contact: Ruth Scally (president): This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Alternative: Andrea Struble (secretary): This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Baltimore chapter became a branch of the Dickens Fellowship in 2014 after having been active for a number of years. Our enthusiastic group of Dickens devotees reads one novel by Dickens each year, with five or six monthly meetings beginning in September.

The Baltimore branch may be unique in that we have an official Sommelier who sends photos, descriptions and tasting notes for the wines he has selected for each meeting. The wines are provided by our Sommelier and served in stemware, adding another dimension of interest to our Dickens discussions.

The group sometimes schedules outings to a theater or other local venue—and in June we have a party, where we celebrate all things Dickens and vote on the next novel selection.

Special guests with a Dickens connection are occasionally invited to our meetings. In October 2022, we welcomed Loyola University Maryland professor Brian Murray, who joined us for a discussion of Our Mutual Friend. Professor Murray is the author of two books about Dickens: Charles Dickens (biography and literary study, 1994), and the illustrated Bedside Guide to Dickens (2009). 

Dickens visited Baltimore in 1842 and was favorably impressed with our public buildings and monuments, many of which still exist. He returned to the city during his second U.S. visit in 1867–68, when he performed a public dramatic reading.

The Baltimore branch welcomes visitors to our meetings! Meetings are on Friday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. See the schedule in our events listing. Email and let us know if you plan to join us. The Hale Auditorium is located off the E. Melrose Street parking lot behind the church. Enter the auditorium under the green awning.

With a lively membership of over 500 people, The Central Fellowship’s annual calendar of events aims to provide ‘something for everyone’:  talks, walks, readings, visits, and opportunities for socialising in true Dickensian fashion!

Most of our talks are held at The Charterhouse, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6AN. Nearest stations: Barbican, Farringdon, Moorgate. Buses 4, 56, and 153 stop in front of Barbican station on Aldersgate Street, a five minute walk from Charterhouse Square. 

Map1  Map2  Map3

To get to the meeting room, go to the porter's lodge (left of the main entrance) and ask for directions to the learning centre. Please arrive from 6 pm for a drink and a chat before the talk starts at 6.30 pm.

More about Central Fellowship programme  | Contacts:   News and Calendar | Talks     Search the Fellowship for  'Online events'

Regular meeting venue:  St Swithin’s Church Hall, Waverley Road, Southsea, Portsmouth. (To navigate to the car park at the rear of the building use PO5 2QZ).

We usually meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 14:30 to 16:30, except for July and August. We are a friendly group and new members are always welcome.  To find out more, please contact:

Secretary: Geoffrey Christopher – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 023 92 664 205 
Chair: Tim Suffolk - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 023 9238 8870

A typical meeting will consist of:

• An informative and entertaining lecture from a guest speaker
• A discussion on some aspect of our chosen Dickens Book of the Year
• Refreshments break (tea/coffee/ biscuits available for a small fee.)

The Portsmouth Birthplace branch of the Dickens fellowship has connections with Dickens Birthplace Museum: https://charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk/ 
and meets monthly for an afternoon of good Dickensian fellowship under the Chairmanship of Tim Suffolk.
For further information, please click here.