Centuries, Hythe

The house named "Centuries" in Hythe, Kent was built in 1107. This is in the southeast corner of the present house. The original structure is said to have been built by a family named Noble, from Normandy. It stands today with the several additions. The south wing construction began in 1334, when the original outside steps were removed and an inside stairway and main door built. This portion of the house is built of roughly squared sandstone rubble. The number of rooms was increased from to five upstairs and five downstairs. The next addition to the house was in 1685, and the house was named Saint Bartholomew's Hospital, an alms house for the poor. At that time Duck Lane, bordering the front face of the house, was also renamed Bartholomew Street, as it remains today. The final addition to the house was in 1811, extending the rooms to number sixteen in all. The house remained an alms refuge until 1949 and it was ordered destroyed in 1950. The property was purchased by a local family and kept as two flats, as it remains today. The house is listed as a Grade II Historical House and can be viewed from the corner of Church Hill and Bartholomew Streets in the town of Hythe.