The Star Public House

The Star Public House probably has origins in the early 17th century, with a significant addition dating from the late 18th or early 19th century. The original section is framed construction, with a brick ground floor, a tile-hung first floor, and the upper part in brick, all topped with a peg-tile roof and brick stacks.

The layout consists of a front block added in the late 18th or early 19th century, facing east onto the road. This block is two rooms wide, with principal rooms heated by end stacks, and a rear outshut to the right. A rear left wing, at a right angle, also has two rooms, originally with back-to-back fireplaces around a central stack. A lean-to projects from the west end. This wing may have initially been a three-cell lobby entrance building, with one cell removed when the front block was added. The angle between the two blocks has been partially filled by a service block, probably dating from the early 20th century, set at an oblique angle.

The east front, which is the main facade, is almost symmetrical with three bays, deep eaves, a hipped roof, and end stacks. The centre bay projects slightly, featuring a late 18th or early 19th century doorcase with pilasters, a flat porch hood with a moulded cornice, and brackets. A panelled door with glazed upper panels and a diamond-glazed overlight is set within the doorcase. There is a similar door and doorcase on the far right, providing access to the room on that side. Circa early 19th century sash windows with rubbed-brick flat arches are found throughout; three 12-pane sashes on the first floor, and two tripartite 12-pane sashes with 4-pane outer lights on the ground floor. The left return, which is the 17th-century wing, has two windows plus one to the outshut at the left end. The roof is half-hipped at the west end. Two 19th-century doors are present, a panelled door on the left and a plank door on the right. Two first-floor 3-light casements with diamond-leaded panes remain, one retaining early 17th or 18th century window furniture. Ground-floor C20 5-light and 3-light casements are also visible, along with a gabled attic dormer. A blocked door, indicating a possible original lobby entrance, is present internally.

Inside the eastern room of the wing, which is used as a restaurant, a chamfered axial beam with run-out stops, exposed joists, and an open fireplace with sandstone jambs and a chamfered lintel are preserved. The first floor reveals visible wall framing with wall posts and tension braces. Several early 18th-century 2-panel doors also survive on the first floor.

The roof of the wing is a clasped purlin roof with turned and re-set rafters.

According to a pub guide, the property was purchased by Robert Arnolde, a brewer and ale seller of Brenchley, in 1637 and was registered as an inn in 1705. The guide also states that the thatched roof was replaced with tiles in 1790.