Star Hotel, Great Yarmouth his tenure he made several improvements to the tavern, adding a billiard room and dining room to replace the stable block. In 1848 Charles Dickens visited and stayed in Great Yarmouth while gathering material for his book "David Copperfield" and many of the town's buildings have their place in the book including the "Star", which becomes the Inn where David and Steerforth stayed. In 1819, the "Star Tavern" was the Yarmouth terminus for the royal mail coach, which left for London every day at 2:00 pm. By 1845, the tavern was also the terminus for mail for Birmingham, and a
James Dickens seat was gained by the Conservative candidate John Gummer. After leaving Parliament, he became Assistant Director of Manpower for the National Freight Corporation. He subsequently joined the National Water Council as Assistant Director of Manpower and was promoted to Director of Manpower. From 1983 to 1991 he worked as Chief Personnel Officer to the Agricultural and Food Research Council. He left the Labour Party in 2003, because of opposition to the Iraq War. Dickens was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours list of 1991. James Dickens James McCulloch York Dickens OBE