St Mary'S Hall

St Mary’s Hall is a house dating from the 17th century and circa 1830. It is constructed of red brick with a plain tiled roof to the north, and painted brick with a hipped slate roof to the south. The house has a double-depth plan. The front elevation has two storeys and three windows. The first floor has sash windows, while the ground floor has two outer bays, united by a slate roofed porch. St Mary’s Hall was the home of Henry Pye from 1845 to 1909. He introduced several innovations in farming, including the use of steam engines (manufactured by Aveling of Rochester) for ploughing and threshing. He also drained the marshes, which improved grazing land and helped eliminate fevers that had previously reduced the local population.