St James' Church, Cooling was restored in the 19th century, when a vestry was added, and the porch was rebuilt. It was declared redundant on 19 November 1976 and vested in the Churches Conservation Trust on 31 May 1978. It is now cared for by a group known as the Friends of St James' Church. The church is open daily to visitors. The churchyard provided the inspiration for the opening chapter of Charles Dickens' book "Great Expectations", in which the hero of the story, Pip, meets the convict, Magwitch. In 2005 the musician Jools Holland married the sculptor Christabel McEwan in the church. St
Gerald Charles Dickens (actor) the Music Box Theatre in Minneapolis he played Charles Dickens in Jeffrey Hatcher's one-hander "To Begin With", which was adapted from Dickens' "The Life of Our Lord". He played the role again in a 2017 revival. In 2004, Dickens won the British TV show "The Weakest Link" during its 8th season in an episode where the contestants all had famous ancestors. Gerald Dickens lived in Goudhurst, Kent with his former wife Lucy Marsh, with whom he had a son, Cameron. He married his long-term partner Liz Hayes, a pianist who sometimes accompanies his performances, on 10 August 2015. They live