PhD - Full-time
"The use and development of the Maison Dieu, Dover and its significance to the Crown, port and local community 1450-1606"
Kieron has received funding for studies from the Ian Coulson Memorial Postgraduate Fund
First Supervisor: Sheila Sweetinburgh | Chair: Claire Bartram
Originally founded as a medieval hospital in the early 1200s, the Maison Dieu was surrendered to the Crown in 1544. The last master of the Maison Dieu, John Thompson, used the hospital to store materials for the new harbour works in Dover and it became a victualling yard, supplying ships of the Tudor Navy as Britain emerged as a maritime power. Ironically, it was Henry VIII who effectively closed the Maison Dieu with the Dissolution, but who brought about the next chapter in its history in helping lay the foundations of the future Royal Navy!
From the press release:
Kieron Hoyle, a former history teacher at Dover Grammar School for Boys and now a senior lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University, is researching the Maison Dieu’s development following the Reformation and Dissolution of the monasteries as part of her PhD.
Kieron said: “The Maison Dieu is a fascinating building but there has been little research into the period following the Reformation and its surrender to the Crown. My project will explore the history of the Maison Dieu under the Tudors and this remarkable building’s relations with the town of Dover and the Crown. It is also an opportunity to explore a time in history when Calais was still held by the English Crown.”
The research is funded by The Janus Foundation via the Ian Coulson Memorial Postgraduate Awards scheme at Canterbury Christ Church University. It is linked to the ‘Kent’s Maritime Communities’ project jointly run by the University of Southampton and Canterbury Christ Church University. I am also working as an education volunteer with the Maison Dieu.