LEGENDARY author Charles Dickens' recently unearthed Worcester visit has been marked with a blue plaque. 

The A Christmas Carol author stayed at the Swan Hotel on Worcester High Street on August 11, 1858, which, in a remarkable twist of fate, has since been converted into the Script Haven independent bookshop. 

Script Haven has now revealed it will be holding a Dickens festival every February, the month Dickens was born. 

The plaque marking the visit was installed on Tuesday, July 24. 

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The link between the shop and Dickens was discovered through a chance conversation with customer Chris Garner. 

With the help of The Hive, Worcester City Council and others, Script Haven found definitive proof Dickens stayed at the hotel turned bookshop.

Proof of the Great Expectations writer's trip to Worcester included a letter Dickens wrote to fellow novelist Wilkie Collins from the Swan Hotel. 

Script Haven owner and former Worcestershire Poet Laureate, Leena Batchelor, told the Worcester News:  "I am delighted to be able to celebrate this significant feature for Worcester. 

"Many thanks to Chris Garner, former head at St Mary’s, for telling us about this link. 

"We will now be celebrating each February with a Dickens Festival."

She added she had no idea of the link between the building she now trades in and Dickens but felt honoured to be able to help continue his legacy. 

Following her discovery, the passionate historian has also called for more to be done to promote Worcester's place on the world stage across the ages. 

The shop's social media manager and former Worcestershire Poet Laureate Rhianna Levi asked to donate money for the plaque in memory of her father, Stephen Haughty. 

Mr Haughty, who lived in Ledbury and Droitwich, passed away in 2020. 

A separate plate will be placed underneath the blue plaque to acknowledge their generosity. 

Miss Levi added she was pleased to have made sure her father was remembered in history and described the plaque unveiling as a 'good day'.

Script Haven was recently ranked as the third-best independent bookshop in the UK by The Times.