CHATHAM TQ7567NW HIGH STREET 762-1/3/10 (North side) 29/10/52 Nos.1-12 (Consecutive) The Hospital of Sir John Hawkins and attached front railings (Formerly Listed as: HIGH STREET, Chatham Town (North side) Nos.1-12 (Consecutive) The Hospital of Sir John Hawkins) GV II Almshouses, now sheltered housing. Founded 1592, rebuilt 1789, converted to flats 1983. Brick with rendered plinth, brick rear lateral stacks and a tiled hipped roof. PLAN: parallel ranges each of 4 single-depth plan houses to a quadrangle, with a central rear Council House and rear 3-house range. EXTERIOR: each of 2 storeys; 1-window range. Parapeted flat gables to the street have a plinth, blind round-headed arch and rectangular sunken panel above. Each house has cambered heads to a doorway nearer the rear and 3-light mullion and transom windows with central metal casements and leaded lights. Council Room is a single-storey, 3-bay range, a shallow pedimented gable opens above the doorway, round-arched openings the doorway with a radial fanlight and flush-panelled door, and blocked flanking windows. A brick archway to the right of the Council Room leads to a C19 range of yellow brick houses matching the front ranges. INTERIOR: a hall passage leads to C20 lateral stairs; altered 1983. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: attached metal railings on dwarf wall connect the two ranges, with a central round overthrow. HISTORY: founded for retired mariners. (The Buildings of England: Newman J: West Kent and the Weald: London: 1976-: 202). Listing NGR: TQ7528167943