Buildings

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A history of a community is as much about the buildings left by previous generations as about the people themselves and both South Darenth and Horton Kirby are rich in interesting old buildings.

ROMAN VILLA AND GRANARY

How many people know that when they are picnicking or playing football in Westminster Field they are within inches of an important historical site?

On 17th May 1972, a site of Roman remains was discovered by the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit during its programme of work on the line of the new Darent Valley sewer.

The excitement of the archaeologists was tempered by the knowledge that, on the following day, the area was to be deeply mechanically excavated which would have destroyed everything. Drastic action was needed (on a Sunday!) to persuade the West Kent Sewerage Board to divert the branch sewer to miss this major site. An additional £1300 was involved but telephone promises from the DoE, Dartford RDC and other private and public groups were urgently obtained in the following 15 hours. As a result work was able to continue for five weeks, attracting much local interest. On one Sunday 600 people came to see what was going on. The Primary School raised funds to keep the work going and, as reported in the Kentish Times, a Miss C Webber, reading of the discovery in a Transvaal newspaper, wrote from South Africa offering the Parish Council £50 towards the work.

View of the excavation looking towards Westminster Mill

Working on the Granary foundations looking north east towards the river

At the same time foundation work had started 25 metres to the south-east on the new football pavilion. This was closely observed and showed part of a second Roman building which was further investigated (though for one day only) on completion of the pavilion in 1973. The first building was an impressive Roman granary and the second is assumed to have been the main villa-house. The discovery of the Horton Kirby Roman villa-estate filled a notable gap in the line of villas along the Darent Valley where they occur at intervals of about one or two kilometres. The distance between the Darenth Villa to the north and the Franks villa to the south was three kilometres so this fitted in nicely. Brian Philp in his and Ralph Mills' book on the Horton Kirby villa states that the discovery was to be expected from the existence of several hundred fragments of Roman tiles embedded in the flint walls of St Mary's Parish Church.

In parts the remains of the granary lay less than 0.3m below the surface, but as the land had only been used for grazing it had remained undisturbed.

The conclusions reached by the evidence from the excavation are that the granary building had an overall size of 32m x 17m and consisted of a central main hall with 2m wide aisles on three sides. The entrance faced the river. Evidence from the foundation flint walls points to the fact that the superstructure was a massive timber-framed building. The building had four distinct periods in its life when alterations were made, including the addition of hearths, to allow firstly for heavier storage and then the creation of several rooms to provide working and living quarters. Dating the building comes from the pottery fragments which show that the granary was used only during the period 100 -350AD.

Franks Hall before the First World War

Plaster Ceiling and frieze in the ladies' room

FRANKS HALL is the only Grade I Listed Building in the parish and was built in 1591 by Launcelot Bathurst (replacing an earlier house on the other side of the river). The owner in 1894 was Vavasour Earle. He had bought the property from Frederick Power in 1877. By that time the typical Elizabethan mansion had been turned into a comfortable Victorian country house.

Vavasour Earle made few alterations but he did build a picture gallery at the end of the lime avenue for his vast collection. It was a substantial building with caretakers' quarters at each end. Unfortunately only the walls remain as World War II incendiary bombs caused considerable damage to the glass roof and burned much of the oak floor.

During the period of Mr Earle's ownership, Franks was at the very heart of the community and its grounds used for many events and celebrations. In 1910 the Earle family emigrated to America and the house was bought by Lord Bathurst who was a descendant of the original owner but he retained it in the family only until 1923.

The house was left empty for ten years until Alfred Morris Wheeler, a wealthy property owner and draper from Bexley, bought it. During the Second World War, Franks was used as a maternity home and the Wheelers lived in The Lodge.

In 1977, on Mrs Wheeler's death, the house was bought by Michael Berry whose family lived in Franks for only three years. Many local people remember going to the auction held afterwards because this was the only chance that locals had to see the interior of this magnificent building.

In 1980 the estate and buildings were bought by Findlay Publications who still use the buildings as their prestigious headquarters. As recorded in the Company's own booklet on the history of Franks, "a major restoration programme was launched and the neglect of years was wiped away. Modern lighting, heating, fire protection, security and telecommunications systems were introduced yet the historic character remains virtually untouched".

THE COURT LODGE

As far as Ralph Rogers is concerned, an Englishman's home is his castle. Part of The Court Lodge, Horton Kirby, where his family has lived since 1902, is the oldest residential building in the parish having been built as Horton Castle in the time of William the Conqueror for Bishop Odo. The house is named from the custom of holding the manor court here.

There is said to be a secret passage from the house to St Mary's Church but as yet this has not been found.

Court Lodge, showing the castle wall

RISELEY

Once part of the Franks Hall estate, Riseley is a fine Victorian house built in 1887. It was the home of the first Chairman of the Parish Council and prominent local figure, George B Rashleigh. In the 1930s the estate changed dramatically. Most of the grounds were sold for Council housing (Saxon Place) and the house itself was bought by Dartford Rural District Council and converted into a Convalescent and Maternity Home. During the War, antenatal classes were held in Riseley and one part of the house was reinforced as a place for mothers-to-be to shelter as they would have had difficulty getting into the confined space of an air raid shelter! In 1956 the house was filled with refugees from Hungary; young men who had fled to escape the uprising there. Since 1957 the house has been a private family home.

Reynolds Place, Horton Kirby c 1910

REYNOLDS PLACE

Behind the high wall of Reynolds Place on the corner of Rays Hill and Lombard Street, lies a fascinating building with a wealth of history. Named after a medieval family who owned it, a property has been on the site since Norman times and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was owned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror. Since then the house has been in continual residence including being once owned by Sir John Browne, a Lord Mayor of London. The original house was rebuilt in the 16th Century and was a Tudor mansion even larger than Franks Hall. Unfortunately the great storm of 1703 damaged it so severely that most of the building was pulled down by the owner leaving only "sufficient for a farmhouse". The east wing of Reynolds Place is original with many fine features including huge Tudor stone fireplaces, Tudor painted glass panels and extensive cellars.

 

THE WHITE HOUSE, THE STREET

This 18th - Century Grade II Listed Building is one of the most intriguing, being at the centre of a thriving smuggling trade in previous centuries.
Horton Kirby played an important part in the smuggling of contraband goods from Gravesend to London. The White House stored goods before they were taken away up Calfstock Lane and onward through Farningham Woods. According to Alison Fraser,
the plans of the house show a "dead area" which is a passageway leading from the old kitchen up the side of the chimney breast to an attic. This attic has wonderful views over the countryside to the north-east, ideal as a lookout.

The White House, Horton Kirby

 

Kirby Hall, a modern view

KIRBY HALL

Kirby Hall in The Street is thought to be on the site of the original Kirkby Court built by Roger Kirkby in the 13th Century, who coming down from Lancashire married the Lady Horton, thus giving the village its name. In the 19th Century a lieutenant of Admiral Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, HMS Victory, transformed Kirby Hall in the manner of the time by giving the unfashionable timber framed house a slate roof and pale brickwork. This gave the house its most interesting architectural feature - the brickwork effect which is in fact created by mathematical tiles hung over the original walls. In more recent times the original Grade II Listed Building was converted into two flats but is now a family home The existing house now appears to be one storey lower than before because the top floor of attics was sealed off and the windows taken out.

RASHLEIGH LODGE

According to the Kentish Times, this 18th - Century building was extended in 1830 by George Rashleigh to accommodate his daughter's wedding reception. It was the vicarage of St Marys until the 1930's. The same report of 1971 tells of plans to demolish the building and re-develop the site. A Preservation Order served promptly by Kent County Council saved it and it is now protected as a Listed Building.

OLD SCHOOL COTTAGE

Formerly known as Russell House, Old School Cottage at the bottom of School Lane has never actually had any connection with the school, being very much older. Originally it fronted Lombard Street and the previous entrance (now blocked up) can be seen in the flint wall. This historic building from the late 15th and early 16th Centuries was originally an open hall-house and later a yeoman farmer's house. The owner also had farming rights in Horton Woods - presumably to keep pigs there and collect wood. During the early part of the century, the house was divided into three tiny cottages - two of them "1 up 1 down" and the third "2 up 1 down". There was a communal copper and sink for all three families to use.

Russel House, now Old School Cottage

Giffords, c 1906

GIFFORDS

This beautiful house which lies at the heart of the South Darenth Conservation Area (deThe imposing Grade II Listed Building, which has a mid-18th Century exterior given to an earlier house by lawyer and owner Thomas Williams, is set in beautiful wooded grounds including a magnificent cedar in the front lawn. A second beautiful cedar and many other trees were lost in the storm of 1987. The Muggeridge family who once lived in the house had connections with South Darenth for over 200 years and were well-known benefactors. During the Second World War the house was a Land Army hostel. Graffiti from that time, including names of people staying there, was found on the back of the window shutters and the railings from the house were given to the war effort. There is even older graffiti, from the 18th Century, in the barn - a list of horses and ponies kept there. At the far end of the extensive cellars it is said there is a priest hole. In 1986 Giffords was bought by Tony and Jackie Marriott-Smith who until 1993 used the premises for their business, Kent Sales, the military auctioneers.

AVENUE HOUSE

Avenue House in Holmesdale Road is an 18th Century Grade II Listed Building which has had a chequered history in the past 100 years. In 1894 it was the home of Sydney Spalding, owner of the Paper Mill, who lived there up to the Second World War. During the War it had many uses including being used as the ARP station and a Red Cross Post. The basement was reinforced with concrete beams and as late as the early 1980s the telephones and other wartime equipment could be seen discarded down there. In the 1940s the building was turned into flats and Nurse Drewitt, the District Nurse, lived in one. For much of the time from the end of the 1950s to the early 1980s, it was more or less derelict but it was used to house East European refugees. Charley Krumin and his family, Latvian emigres, lived there and were well-known in the village. Later it was used by the District Council for temporary housing for the homeless. In the 1980s it was put on the market and sold to become once more a private residence.

Avenue House, Holmesdale Road, South Darenth in 1994

 

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