8 and 9 High Street is a Grade II* listed building in the Maidstone local planning authority area, England. First listed on 30 July 1951. Commercial. 7 related planning applications.
8 and 9 High Street
- WRENN ID
- solemn-pilaster-equinox
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Maidstone
- Constituency
- Maidstone and Malling MP: Helen Grant (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 30 July 1951
- Type
- Commercial
- Address
- 8 and 9 High Street, ME14 1HJ
- OS grid reference
- TQ 760 557
- Coordinates
- 51.27377, 0.52229
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Nos 8 and 9 High Street were built in 1827 by John Whichcord Senior as the Kent Fire Office and later served as the Royal Insurance Offices. This impressive building is constructed from Portland stone, featuring a rusticated ground floor. It stands three storeys tall and is distinguished by eight engaged fluted Ionic columns that rise through the first and second floors, supporting an entablature. Above this, there is a parapet adorned with an elaborate cartouche at the center, topped with a helmet.
The first and second floor windows are seven sashes set in moulded architrave surrounds, with the original glazing bars still intact. The ground floor showcases large windows with segmental heads, which now contain plate glass. At the west end, there are two equally sized archways that create a passageway through the building into the market buildings, accommodating both pedestrians and vehicles. These arches are supported by four Tuscan columns.
Nos 1, 3, and 5 to 9 form a cohesive group, and the building also groups with the Mitre Public House and the Market Buildings.
Local climate
8 and 9 High Street sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 740 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 76% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 76% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 28 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 69% of listed buildings. Of these, 13 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 1 transaction since 2019
- Related listed building consents — 7 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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