Almshouses And Handrails And Garden Walls Attached

The building is a row of almshouses, dating from 1770, located on East Street in Harrietsham. Constructed from red brick in Flemish bond, the almshouses feature a plain tile roof and are arranged in a double depth, with each range separately roofed. They are one storey high with cellars set on a plinth. Above the ground floor windows, there is a plain band, and the parapet has rendered coping with coped gable ends.

The design includes two central cottages and two at either end that slightly project forward, topped with a coped triangular pediment over the central break. The rear features twelve red brick chimney stacks along the ridge. The windows are regularly spaced and consist of twelve recessed glazing-bar sashes with segmental heads, while segmental-headed voussoirs for the cellars are just visible. Each cottage has a twelve-panelled door, with one door to the right of each window, except in the central break where there are two doors flanked by windows. Each door has a flat bracketed hood and is accessed by three steps, with a plain iron handrail on the left side.

There are four rainwater heads dated 1770 and two insurance plaques in the pediment. A board in the pediment states that these almshouses were founded and endowed in 1642 by Mark Quested Esq., a local native and member of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers of London, and that they were rebuilt in 1770 at the expense of the Company. The interiors were not inspected. Additionally, there are short lengths of garden wall in Flemish bond attached to the front and rear of the almshouses.