Building record TQ 96 NW 1189 - Former Kemsley Arms Public House

The former Kemsley Arms Public House was opened in 1929 as the Kemsley Clubhouse, part of Kemsley Garden Village established in the early 20th century. The building underwent a heritage assessment carried out in 2021. "Overall, externally the building provides architectural interest as a Queen Anne Revival style building, alongside the residential houses within the village as one of a number of towns/villages of garden city designs that came out of the early 20th century. It was a prominent building central to the social life of the village for the mill workers. The village was never completed and many elements to the original plan were not carried out. The front of the building retains the vast majority of its original features. However, there is little remaining original features at the rear of the building. The aesthetic of the building has currently been lost somewhat by the addition of the poorer quality western extension, the loss of many features such as the downstairs original windows, the clock, top of the wind vane amongst others. Internally little remains of original features associated with the ground floor. On the first floor in the main concert hall area, the space can still be appreciated as that of a concert hall with particularly the survival of the curved ceiling framework and front elevation windows and mouldings. Such premises are usually subject to change and alteration and rarely survive in their original configuration. However, there are probably enough surviving features on the façade and the first floor to warrant special interest and associated with the accompanying Garden Village. The building does retain its historical interest as a clubhouse associated with Kemsley mill although, the original purpose and communal value of the building and the wider village was broken when they were sold by the mill owners in the later 20th century" (from the original report, 1).

<1> Swale and Thames Archaeological Survey Company, 2021, The Former Kemsley Arms Public House, The Square, Sittingbourne, Kent, Me10 2sl; Heritage Statement (Unpublished document). SKE56781.