West Malling home of inter-county cricket in Kent, and it is known that in 1705, "West of Kent" played Chatham at Malling. The setting for the cricket match between All Muggleton and Dingley Dell in Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers is reputed to be based on an amalgamation of the grounds at West Malling and Maidstone. There is a resemblance to West Malling in the original illustration of the match, a version of which featured on the back of the £10 banknote featuring Dickens, first circulated on 29 April 1992. Dickens, however, was a regular visitor to Dingley Hall in the village of
Frederick Dickens couple applied for a judicial separation on the grounds of adultery. Anna was granted alimony, which Fred Dickens refused to pay, leaving the country. On his return in 1862, he was arrested and imprisoned for debt. Like his father before him, who had also been imprisoned for debt, Fred had gained credit from various sources by trading on his brother's fame, "...rasping my very heart," Charles Dickens stated. Fred became the inspiration for the dissolute brother of Little Nell, also named Fred, in "The Old Curiosity Shop". During the period Charles was writing the novel, Fred Dickens had been obtaining