Sash windows in Kemsing, under the North Downs

Kemsing lies on the scarp face of the North Downs about four miles north-east of Sevenoaks, with the hamlets of Heaverham and Noah's Ark in the parish. It was the birthplace of Saint Edith of Wilton in the 960s, and St Edith's Well still sits in the middle of the village. The parish has one Grade I, three Grade II* and 31 Grade II listed buildings, among them St Edith's Hall of 1911 and the war memorial of 1921, both by Godfrey Pinkerton.

The council's revised appraisal of 2023 explains how the village grew. The oldest houses on the High Street date from the 15th and 16th centuries. The railway arrived in 1874 and brought new houses to the western end of the High Street. After the First World War houses spread along The Landway and Pilgrim's Way, and after 1945 development joined Kemsing to Otford on the west.

That history gives Kemsing two distinct window types. The appraisal says timber sashes are typical of the Georgian and Victorian houses and the 19th-century buildings, while timber casements, often with leaded lights, belong to the later vernacular revival buildings. Walls are mostly local red brick in Flemish bond, often with dark headers, with clay tile hanging, flint, ragstone and Welsh slate roofs from the 19th century.

What the Article 4 direction covers

Kemsing does have an Article 4 direction in progress, which the council resolved to make in July 2023 and consulted on again in 2024. It covers front boundaries and front gardens: hard surfaces, gates, walls and fences, and demolition of boundary walls. It does not cover windows.

The appraisal is still blunt about plastic windows on historic buildings, calling them alien and unsympathetic. For a Georgian or Victorian house inside the conservation area, an aluminium heritage sash or, if listed, timber is the respectful choice. For the 20th-century houses outside the boundary to the west and south, a uPVC sash or casement matched to the original is entirely reasonable.

Background: Kemsing on Wikipedia.

Planning a frontage in Kemsing? Ask for a survey or call 01732 900157.