The Old Gaol

The Old Gaol & Workhouse.

Remnants of the old Lenham workhouse built in 1723 are incorporated into the brickwork of the Douglas Almshouses . Attached to one end of the row of quaint country cottages is the old gaol which was built in the early part of the nineteenth century and continued to serve as the village gaol until after WWI.

After this time it was used as a mortuary for any unidentified bodies or strangers of the village who had sustained fatal injuries in an accident.

During WWII an inner brick wall was built to reinforce the door and it became a useful, albeit small air raid shelter!