History - Lower Stone Street

Like Week Street, this formed part of the Roman Road between Rochester, The Weald and Lympne, and this ancestry is evidenced by the name “Stone Street” to distinguish it from the muddy tracks of medieval times.  The area around its junction with Knightrider Street probably formed the nucleus of the early medieval town.  The east side of the street has an almost continuous run of historic listed buildings, but the east side was unfortunately redeveloped in the 1970’s.

However, some particularly fine buildings remain, especially No.28 which has a fine frontage of 1716 added to a medieval house of some considerable importance.  Owned by the Sackville family in the 17^th Century, it became the Judges’ Lodgings in the 19^th Century to accommodate the circuit judges.  Other fine 18^th Century buildings at Nos. 26 and 11, as well as Romney House in Romney Place, show this to have been a fashionable part of town in Georgian times. An older flavour is given by the exposed timber-frame of a fine 15^th Century house on the corner of Knightrider Street, which was formerly known as Mill House Farm and is now the Thirsty Pig.