The Corpus Christi Hall

The Corpus Christi Hall is a Grade II* listed building located on Earl Street in Maidstone. Originally built in the 15th century, it served as a Hall, Refectory, Chapel, and Cloisters for the Guild or Fraternity of Corpus Christi, which was founded around 1422. After the Suppression of the Fraternity, the building was given to the town for use as a Grammar School in 1549, a function it maintained until 1871. Today, only the Refectory remains.

This L-shaped building is two stories high with attics and constructed of stone rubble, topped with a tiled roof. The main facade faces east and features two hipped dormers. It has two pointed windows with cinquefoil-headed lights and a quatrefoil above, supported by stone mullions and a transom, while the outer windows have been modernized. The gable end facing Earl Street is timbered with red brick infilling. The west wing has stone rubble on the ground floor and imitation timbering above, with two square-headed windows containing three cinquefoil-headed lights, each with dripstones above.

Inside, the hall features two crown posts with chamfered tie beams and a screens passage with five stone arches. There are also traces of a wooden partition that once divided the hall into two sections. The building was formerly a Scheduled Monument.