| Summary : This house was the guesthouse of Faversham Abbey and adjoins the outer gatehouse, which had an arch across what is now Abbey Street. Arden house itself is built in two sections. The back section is of two storeys, in stone rubble (presumably Medieval) with a slate roof. The main part of the building faces south and is of three storeys, probably 15th century, timber framed, and is both higher and wider than the back section. The main section is faced with plaster but the close-studding is exposed on the first floor, and it has a tiled roof. This main section can also be divided into two sections, the western section being studded and overhangs on a bressummer on the first and second floors of both its south and west fronts. The eastern section is all flush. The building has a small porch with a hipped tiled roof, but its doorway is blocked up. To the east of this porch is a modern doorway. The house was the scene of the murder of Thomas Ardene in 1550. Numbers 80 and 81, along with the garden wall at number 80, all form a group. |