The town has a royal title said to have been granted by King Alfred; a church of Saxon origin whose tower is one of the greatest in England; a fine 15th century Court Hall; the third oldest bowling green in the country, the club having been founded in 1540; and a wealth of old houses dating back to Elizabethan times. Only five miles from Rainham the town remains little known; it is Milton Regis, now part of the Western suburbs of Sittingbourne.
"lt is forgetting its ancient past," says 'The King's England' of Milton Regis. This is true no longer, for Swale District Council has now designated it a Conservation Area and all new building and renovation in the Area is carefully controlled. The Council itself has recently put up some attractive buildings whose design is in keeping with the town's new status a residential block for old people called Tannery Court and some mock Victorian terraced houses.
It was whilst Kemsley and I were peering nosily over the garden wall of one of the many Georgian houses in the town that we came face to face with Derek Smith the manager of the Anglia Building Society branch in Rainham High Street. Over a cup of tea we were told that his house was built in 1720 and was once the home of the local blacksmith, traces of whose shop can be seen next to the house.
We cannot promise that all Rainham visitors to Milton Regis will get a cup of tea from Mr Smith but we can assure them that the town is worth a visit, having a wide range of buildings of interest. The sketch map below of the town centre shows the position of some of them. Note in particular how the design and materials of modern Tannery Court match those of ancient houses up the street, including theElizabethan Back House.
"Do you think that any of our readers are interested in Council architecture?" queried an anxious looking Kemsley. "You never know," I replied. "You never know."
