TQ 65 41 BRENCHLEY MAIDSTONE ROAD, MATFIELD (west side) 14/142 The Star Public House GV II Public house. Probably early C17 origins; late C18/early C19 addition. The early block is framed construction,'the ground floor underbuilt in brick, the first floor tile-hung, the rest brick; peg-tile roofs; brick stacks. Plan: The late C18/early C19 front block faces east on to the road, 2 rooms wide, the principal rooms heated from end stacks, with a rear right outshut. The rear left (south west) wing at right angles is 2 rooms on plan with back- to-back fireplaces in an axial stack and a lean-to at the west end. It may originally have been a 3-cell lobby entrance building, one cell removed when the front block was added. The angle between the 2 blocks has been largely filled by a probably early C20 service block at an oblique angle. Exterior: 2 storeys. Almost symmetrical 3-bay east front with deep eaves, a hipped roof and end stacks. The centre bay is broken forward with a late C18/early C19 doorcase with pilasters and a flat porch hood with a moulded cornice, supported on brackets. C19 panelled door, the upper panels glazed, with an overlight with diamond glazing bars and, above it, a moulded panel. At the far right another similar door and doorcase with the same detail gives access to the right hand room. Circa early C19 sash windows throughout with rubbed brick flat arches: 3 12-pane sashes to the first floor, 2 tripartite ground floor sashes, 12-pane in the centre with 4-pane outer lights. The left return (the C17 wing) is 2 windows plus one to the outshut at the left end. Roof half-hipped at the left (west) end. 2 C19 doors, a panelled door to the left and plank door to the right. 2 first floor 3-light casements with diamond leaded panes, one preserves late C17 or early C18 window furniture. One ground floor C20 5-light casement with diamond leaded panes; 3-light C20 timber casement alongside the left hand door. One gabled attic dormer. There is no sign of an original doorway to the lobby entrance on the exterior but there is a blocked door internally (information from the owner). Interior: The eastern room of the wing (used as a restaurant) preserves a chamfered stopped axial beam, exposed joists and an open fireplace with sandstone jambs and a chamfered lintel. The wall framing is visible on the first floor with wall posts with formed jowls and tension braces. A number of early C18 2-panel doors also survive on the first floor. Roof: Clasped purlin roof to the wing the rafters turned and re-set. An historical guide in the pub states that it was bought by Robert Arnolde, brewer and ale seller of Brenchley, in 1637 and was registered as an inn in 1705. The guide also states that the thatch was replaced with tile in 1790. Listing NGR: TQ6592541934