Arden's House is a Grade II* listed building in the Swale local planning authority area, England. First listed on 29 July 1950. Guest house.

Arden's House

WRENN ID
sacred-gargoyle-autumn
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Swale
Constituency
Faversham and Mid Kent MP: Helen Whately (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
29 July 1950
Type
Guest house
Address
Arden's House, 80, Abbey Street, Faversham
OS grid reference
TR 018 617
Coordinates
51.31886, 0.89501
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Arden's House is a Grade II* listed building that served as the guest house for Faversham Abbey and is located adjacent to the outer gatehouse, which once had an arch across what is now Abbey Street. The building consists of two sections. The back section is two storeys high with one window, constructed of stone rubble that is likely medieval, topped with a slate roof. The main section faces south and is a timber-framed structure, probably from the 15th century. It is three storeys tall with four windows, finished with plaster but featuring exposed close-studding on the first floor and a tiled roof.

The building is divided into two portions; the west portion has studding and overhangs on a bressummer on both the first and second floors on its south and west fronts, while the east portion is flush. It has casement windows and a small porch with a hipped tiled roof at the center, although the doorway is now blocked. To the east of the porch is a modern wooden boarded door. The north wall of the building, extending beyond the back section, features a massive brick chimney breast that has been truncated.

Arden's House is historically significant as the site of the famous murder of Thomas Ardene in 1550, an event that inspired the play "Arden of Faversham," written by Lillo in 1592 and sometimes attributed to Shakespeare. The house, along with No 81 and the wall enclosing the garden behind No 80, forms a group.

Local climate

Arden's House sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 720 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 82% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 65% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 20 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 79% of listed buildings. Of these, 11 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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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Wall Enclosing Garden Behind Arden's House on the North Side Grade II 9 m
  2. 81, Abbey Street Grade II* 18 m
  3. 34, Abbey Street Grade II 31 m
  4. 31 and 32, Abbey Street Grade II 42 m
  5. 82 and 83, Abbey Street Grade II 48 m
  6. 29 and 30, Abbey Street Grade II 50 m
  7. 84, Abbey Street Grade II* 59 m
  8. 85 and 86, Abbey Street Grade II 67 m
  9. Fighting Cocks Cottages Grade II 78 m
  10. 23 and 24, Abbey Street Grade II 79 m