84 High Street

The three High Street properties that are currently 84, 84A and 86 started life as a single property, most likely as a mediaeval hall house (see number 86 for more details about the properties origins). Exactly when the building was split into different units is not known but following the closure of the Nags Head, it was split between commercial and domestic use by a number of different occupants.

Henry William Dunn

The son of a blacksmith from Deal, Henry was living opposite the Nag’s Head in the Colonnade, West Street, when the beer house, opposite his home, was refused renewal of its license. Henry appeared as a witness to support the house’s operators but despite his efforts, it was closed in 1909. One can assume that Henry had a good relationship with either the landlord and/or the representatives of the brewers, Jude Hanbury & Co., as he seems to have been first in line to subsequently take on the building to accommodate his butcher’s business – the 1901 census lists him as a Butcher’s Manager working at 50 High Street (currently the Heart of Kent Hospice Shop) but he is recorded as a ‘worker’ at that time, unlike at number 84, where he is operating his own business.

At this time the building was still a single property, with the front of what is now Hicks being used as the shop front for the business. This was first recorded in the 1911 census and was still operating at the time of the 1939 register. However, Henry’s death was also recorded in that year, so 1939 was likely to have been when the Dunn business closed, but this didn’t mark the end of the property being used by a butcher, as a Kelly’s Directory for West Malling shows H J Baldwin still using the property for the same trade in 1954.

One becomes three

It is not know when the building was split into the 3 units that we recognise today, but the following photos show how this transition evolved, starting with when number 84 was H J Baldwins. At this time, it looks as though the central part of the building, although then empty, still formed part of the business to the right, i.e 84a and 84 were still a single property. It is also interesting to note that a considerable amount of work must have taken place before the final photo – the 2 chimney stacks towards the back of the building were obviously removed and the side aspect of the property that runs along West Street also looks to have been altered, with the visible overhang at gutter height seemingly being removed so that it is in line with the far edge of the front wall, as it is today. Presumably, before this work was undertaken, the ‘hole in the wall’ that gave the former beer house its nickname would still have been visible along the West Street wall. To learn more about the Nag’s Head, or Hole in the Wall beer house, please see number 84a.

Arvie & Co.

We can see from the photos above how Arvie & Co moved from the left hand side of the building (number 86) over to the corner shop (number 84), presumably when H J Baldwin closed. A newspaper advert placed by Arvie & Co in the Kentish Advertiser in 1976 lists the business still at number 86 when it was advertising the following property:

ARVIE & CO
86 High Street West Malling
ATTRACTIVE HIGH STREET, WEST MALLING-Fascinating early timber frame house with innumerable features. 3 rec. (1 small), practical modern kitchen, 2 bath. (1 up, 1 down), 3 beds. (space extension), garage, laid out garden.
£25,500.
***

It is not known which High Street property this advert is referring to but this was certainly a bit of a bargain at the time based on today’s prices. It is assumed that the property remained as an estate agent right through to 2024, when Hicks moved out.