Former Joiner'S Workshop Immediately South Of The River Medway At Branbridges

A former joiner's workshop, now used for storage, dating from the mid-nineteenth century with twentieth-century alterations.

Structure and Materials

The building stands on a deep foundation of Kentish ragstone. The ground floor is constructed of brown brick in English bond, while the first floor is timber-framed and clad in weatherboarding, with a gabled slate roof.

Plan and Layout

The building comprises two storeys arranged in three bays with a central unloading bay. The south bay of the ground floor is partitioned off.

Exterior Features

The south-western side, which formerly opened directly onto the River Medway, features central double ledged wooden hoist doors on the first floor with a large decorative iron hoist bracket. The end bays on both floors have 16-pane pivoting casements. The south-east end has a wide ground floor opening. The north-east landward side has identical ledged hoist doors to the first floor, flanked by 16-pane pivoting casements, while the ground floor contains central wooden double doors and a plank door with wooden architrave to the south.

Interior Construction

The ground floor is divided into three bays by two spine beams supported on chamfered posts with chamfered diagonal braces. The southern bay is partitioned off by a wooden screen with unglazed top panels with metal divisions. A flight of wooden steps in the south-eastern corner leads to the upper floor. The roof is divided into five bays with a scientific kingpost roof of softwood with purlins and diagonal windbraces. The cast iron hoist wheel survives internally.

Historical Context

From the 1740s onwards, Branbridges and East Peckham became a thriving industrial area, with cotton, timber for boat building, hops for brewing, and fruit transported along the River Medway. River traffic declined following the coming of the railways, and the Medway Navigation Company closed in 1909. The building appears on the 1894 Ordnance Survey map. The northern part of the Branbridges site is inscribed "coal wharf" and the area to the south-west shows "timber yard". The 1894 and 1897 maps show the building with an adjoining section to the north, possibly a covered timber yard for storage, though this other building no longer appears on the 1908 map. All these early maps depict a narrow section of the River Medway flowing past the south-west of the building, convenient for direct loading and unloading onto boats. This section of river was later filled in.