[TQ 57577478] Stone Court on site of Manor House [G.T.]. (1) From Saxon times the See of Rochester had possessed property at Stone by Dartford. In Domesday it is entered as Estanes and temp. Hen. III the estate consisted of 236 acres and a mill bringing a total annual value of #24 8s 0d. The manorial buildings which stood near the church on its west side were rebuilt or repaired c.1200 and 1337. Hasted(a) says "The house has long been inhabited by the farmer of the demesne lands. The only remains of the ancient mansion, which never seems to have been dignified with the name of palace, is the great chimney in the centre." After the Reformation the property passed into the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and was sold by them in 1856. (2) Stone Court is a late 19th c. house, now subdivided into two private residences. A stone over a doorway in the E wall bears the date '1654'. (3)

<1> O.S. 25" 1938 (OS Card Reference). SKE47806.

<2> Hist Kent, 1798. (Hasted) (OS Card Reference). SKE43900.

<3> Arch. Cant, 33, 1918,137-9 (OS Card Reference). SKE36962.

<4> F1 ASP 10-NOV-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42036.

<5> Field report for monument TQ 57 SE 5 - November, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3038.