The Anchor Inn And House Adjoining To Rear

The Anchor Inn and the house adjoining to the rear is a building that may have served as a public house, associated with the nearby canal since around 1780, when the canal and lock were constructed. The structure has origins dating back to the 17th century or earlier, with a rear addition made around 1780. It is located on the north-west bank of the River Medway, positioned at the angle between the river and the west bank of the canal.

The building features five timber-framed bays, with the frame rendered and the right gable end partially clad in painted brick. It has a thatched roof, which is hipped to the left and half-hipped to the right. A red brick ridge stack is located in the second bay from the left. There is a small dormer with an eight-paned casement under a slanted thatched roof to the right of the centre. A small raised thatched 'apron' is found beneath the stack and the dormer. The ground-floor windows are arranged irregularly, including three-paned casements, a two-light window at the left end, a shallow four-light 'oriel' window on brackets towards the centre, and a small casement towards the right end. The entrance includes a boarded door to the left of the stack and a half-glazed door to the right of centre. A rear lean-to is positioned to the right.

The addition from around 1780, which is at right angles to the rear, has a brick ground floor and a tile-hung upper half gable, topped with a plain tile roof. This section is 1½ storeys high, featuring a half-hipped mansard roof and a red and grey brick stack on the right side. A flat-roofed dormer is present on the long left side, with a small single light window on the rear gable end. The long right side has a lean-to that has been built up to two storeys.

Inside, the main range displays gunstock-jowled posts, with a tie-beam at the right end of the left bay that is morticed for a partition. The two bays to the right of the stack have slightly higher ceilings. An axial beam is present in the left end bay, while the right end bay features close-set axial joists, a stair trimmer in the rear left corner, a curved tension brace on the front wall, and a blocked two-light window with a wooden cill. Other ceilings and the roof space are plastered. A mid-to-late 20th century addition to the left is noted as not being compatible with the original structure.