Former Cricket Ball Factory In The Grounds Of The Paddocks

The former cricket ball factory, located in the grounds of The Paddocks, is a building dating from the late 18th century or early 19th century. It currently serves as a garage and outbuilding. The structure features weatherboarding on a stock brick plinth and has an old tiled roof with two ridge brick chimneystacks, one of which has vitrified headers.

At the center of the building is a gable that includes a leaded rectangular fanlight, with pargetting on the sides and Dutch doors. To the left, there are two early 19th-century fixed casements with pegged architraves; one is a three-light window and the other is a two-light window, both accompanied by Dutch plank doors on pintle hinges. To the right of the gable, there are three fixed casements—two three-light and one two-light—along with a plank door on pintle hinges.

The roof is supported by collar beams and curved tie beams, while the wall framing consists of thin scantling with diagonal braces. Part of the interior is lined with lath and plaster. This factory was operated by the Duke family, who lived in the adjacent house, The Paddocks. Notably, in 1780, they presented the first six-seamed cricket ball ever made to the Prince of Wales, who later became George IV. The factory was relocated near Penshurst station in 1841. The Duke family were cousins of H.G. Wells, whose father used to visit the Penshurst area to collect cricket goods for sale at his shop in Bromley. This building is likely one of the oldest surviving cricket ball factories.