Dunk's School and Almshouses is a Grade II listed building in the Tunbridge Wells local planning authority area, England. First listed on 9 June 1952. School, almshouses. 4 related planning applications.
Dunk's School and Almshouses
- WRENN ID
- swift-lantern-holly
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Tunbridge Wells
- Constituency
- Tunbridge Wells MP: Mike Martin (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 9 June 1952
- Type
- School, almshouses
- Address
- Dunk's School and Almshouses, 1-6, Rye Road, Hawkhurst, TN18 4HF
- OS grid reference
- TQ 762 305
- Coordinates
- 51.04752, 0.51239
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Dunk's School and Almshouses, dated 1723 and altered in the 19th century, is a building that serves both educational and charitable purposes. It is constructed of red brick in two shades and features a plain tiled roof. The central block houses the school and is flanked by two wings containing three almshouse cottages each.
The central block is two storeys high and includes a plinth, a plat band, and a brick dog-tooth cornice beneath a pyramidal roof topped with a wooden clock turret, which has an arcaded top piece, a leaded roof, and a finial. There is a stack on the right side. The first floor has three wooden casements, while the ground floor features two cross-windows and a boarded door to the right, which is topped by an open pedimented hood supported by paired brackets, partially covering the original gauged door head.
The flanking wings are also two storeys but lower than the central block, with a plat band and wooden cornice at the same level as the central block. Each wing has half-hipped roofs with two stacks. The first floor of each wing has six wooden casements arranged in pairs, and the ground floor has four wooden casements with boarded doors on either side, where the central openings were originally doorways, all with flat-arched heads.
At the rear, there are parallel wings with lower roof lines, tile hung and featuring irregularly placed wooden casements, with the central block having a large hipped extension. Prominently displayed on the main elevation is a raised brick panel inscribed with "Given by Sr Thomas Dunk K+. 1723." This building was founded under the terms of Sir Thomas Dunk's will, who passed away in 1718 and left £2000 for a free school and almshouses for six decayed housekeepers, three men and three women.
Local climate
Dunk's School and Almshouses receives an average of 740 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 73% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 68% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 26 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 71% of listed buildings. Of these, 12 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.
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 4 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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