The Vanishing Houses of Kent 1. Durlock Grange, Minster-in-Thanet. 2. A Destroyed Timber House at Darenth

THE VANISHING HOUSES OF KENT 1. DURLOCK GRANGE, MINSTER-IN-THANET By E.W. PARKIN KENT is rich in ancient timbered houses. Many have been lovingly restored, but hundreds still remain to be discovered-hidden behind brickwork, tiles, weatherboard or shop fronts. Indeed, some have undergone so many modernizations over the centuries, that they have become completely buried, and may be almost impossible to recognize. In some counties, such as Essex, much more exploring and recording has been done. We have in some cases the excellent inventories of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, coupled with the files of the National Buildings Record, but here in Kent, all too little is known. Sad it is then, that owing to the accelerated pace of slum clearance, town re-development and the modernization of farms or other country buildings, many old timbered houses just disappear into oblivion. Lovers of old buildings are waking up to an increasing sense of loss. A joint sub-committee of the Kent Arohmological Society and the Society for the Preservation of Rural Kent has recently been formed. This committee meets regularly, pooling knowledge of old buildings which are threatened, and working with other interested bodies, endeavours to preserve and to restore wherever possible. Much good work has already been done, but despite all efforts, there is too often the sad sight of yet another old timbered house being torn down, most of it being consigned to a bonfire. All that remains in such a case is to record by measurement and photograph all interesting details, so that something may be saved for posterity. It is hoped to publish in Archwologia Oantiana some of the best examples of old houses which have recently disappeared. In investigating these, many interesting and hitherto unknown facts have come to light. Until 1960 Durlock Grange stood in a lane near the main gates of the abbey of Minster-in-Thanet-an old and rather derelict house. A farm labourer and his wife lived there, but the rain dripped through the roof, and most of the timbers at ground level were rotten. The cost of restoration would be high, and so demolition began. The sound 82 THE VANISHING HOUSES OF KENT timbers were taken down carefully, for incorporation into a new house which was to be erected at Doomsday Green, near Horsham in Sussex. It was soon realized that here was a house of unusual interest, for despite alterations and additions, almost all the medieval features were discernible. The history of the house is bound up with that of Minster Abbey. Following the destruction of that institution by the Danes, the site, together with ten thousand acres of land around it, was granted by King Cnut to St. Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury. Then, following the Black-Death more than three hundred years later, the abbey again fell into disrepair and a complete restoration was undertaken in the years 1413-14 by Thomas Hunden, abbot of St. Augustine's. His . arms and initials may still be seen above the main doorway of the north range of the abbey. Durlock Grange dates from this period. Its design and detail are early fifteenth century, and a comparison with the fine crown-post1 (or king-post} roof in the abbey, the work of Abbot Hunden, shows identical workmanship. The house as first built, was a typical Kentish hall house or Wealden house. It had a central hall open to the roof, with a smooth floor of beaten clay. In the centre was the hearth, a rough circle of flat stones about 4 ft. across and pressed into the clay. This was found almost undisturbed beneath a later floor. Between the stones was white wood ash, as fresh as if it had been left there the day before. The brown clay floor was blackened for about a foot around the hearth, but underneath the stones it was burned a bright brick red. On the east side of the hall was a small room which had once been the parlour.. This was separated from the hall by old oak panelling which had been whitewashed over so many times that it looked merely like rough boards. Before its value was realized, the workmen smashed it out and burned it. Only a few small pieces were salvaged which showed that it had been part of the original house, and consisted of hand planed oak boards fitting vertically with tongues and grooves. The room above this parlour, called the solar, had once been reached by a steep "solid block" staircase at the rear, for a trimmer in the heavy oak joists showed this. The upper room on the far side of the hall had a similar staircase leading to it from the rear of the hall, while twin doors led into the buttery and the pantry on the ground floor. These two small service rooms are of Norman origin, the name buttery being a corruption of " bouteillerie " or bottle place, and a butler being a bouteillier or l The term " Crown-post " has been suggested by Profeasor R. A. Cordingley to a.void confusion with the king-post roof of more northern counties, where a "King-post " supports a. ridge-piece. 83 THE VANISHING HOUSES OF KENT 8'􀀆" 20'0" y --ll?