Dickson House
A guided tour of this historic house which was the old Poltical agency is a must. You will hear very interesting facts about the history of the UK and Kuwait and the residence itself, which was home to Colonel Dickson and his wife Dame Violet from 1929.
Colonel Dickson was appointed as Political Agent in May 1929 and he arrived in Kuwait accompanied by his wife (who continued to reside at Dickson House after his death) and their two children. You will see many photographs of the family enjoying their time in Kuwait around the home and hear many interesting facts about life in Kuwait in the 30's.
Today it stands off the busy Arabian Gulf Street but back then (before the road was built) it stood opposite the dhow harbour on the sea front where specially built dhows brought fresh water in as Kuwait in those days had very little fresh water of it's own. The house was made of coral and mud-brick construction and has several storage rooms on the ground floor with the living area upstairs. You can see the very English furniture still there, including sofas and a fireplace with mantlepiece (!) which must have seemed very strange at that time in Kuwait.
There are also lovely views over the Gulf from the outside verandah and there is a yard and stables outside where a variety of animals used to roam.
Colonel Dickson supervised the building of a new Agency, which is now the British Embassy and visited the site every day to ensure that the work was being carried out properly. The Dickson's tenure there however was shortlived as he was close to retirement age. After his death, his wife Violet, was allowed to reside in their old residence, Dickson House.
Anne Al Bassam is the name of the lady who guided me around this house (and Kuwait's history); she was a close personal friend of Dame Violet and is a wealth of information. She is also an accomplished author and her book 'Footsteps in the Sand' is an amazing history of Kuwait and her neighbours from 1700 to 2003.
