A love letter to a former boarding school pupil has been found under the floorboards at Eastgate House.

The historic building became a school in 1791 and it is thought the letter was written to a pupil, either from another pupil, teacher or from someone outside of the school.

The letter is just one of many finds uncovered by contractors who are renovating the Grade I listed town house in Rochester High Street.

A multi-million pound conservation project is under way to bring the building back into public use and create a community space with improved visitor facilities and access.

In 2012 Medway Council secured Heritage Lottery Funding of £1.2m towards the cost of the £2.1m project.

The work is set to last 50 weeks and, once complete, it will be the first time the house has been fully open to the public in more than 30 years.

At the project launch, community services chief Cllr Howard Doe said: “It will be a real cornerstone of the cultural quarter in Rochester.

“It’s not just a museum, it’s a lived in house and we want to make sure people come along and enjoy it and get that spirit.”

“It’s not just a museum, it’s a lived in house and we want to make sure people come along and enjoy it and get that spirit”

Renovation specialist Fairhurst Ward Abbots, which has previously worked on Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes, is behind the project.

Site manager Jay Westwood, said they’ve made some great finds just in the first four weeks including a bone toothbrush, thimble, newspaper cutting and a farthing.

He said: “Every day we’re finding something new. It’s fascinating, it’s an honour to work on it.”

The building started life as the family home of Sir Peter Buck, Clerk of the Cheque at Chatham’s Royal Tudor Dockyard.

Throughout the centuries it has been used as a Victorian boarding school, a young men’s hostel, a restaurant and a museum.

Charles Dickens included it in two of his novels: The Pickwick Papers and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

The writer’s Swiss chalet from his home at Gad’s Hill Place was relocated to Eastgate House in 1961.

The renovation project includes essential repairs to the roof, windows and floors with new heating and lighting and unsightly pipe work and wiring removed.

An extension at the back of the building will add a lift to improve access.

Clive England, from Thomas Ford Architects, said: “This is an absolute gem of a building, it’s been a pleasure to work on it.

“The extension will enable the building to be properly used and properly accessible.”

The house will re-open in 2016, with exhibitions and displays telling the story of the house and those who have lived and worked there for more than 400 years.