This old house.

The Royal British Legion Village

Although part of Aylesford parish, the village deserves a mention of its own. Founded on Preston Hall Hospital, it grew out of the efforts of the British Legion (before it was distinguished with the Royal prefix) to provide for ex-servicemen needing continuing support during and after convalescence.

The present house, despite its Jacobean style, was built in the 1850s and was part of an extensive manor that dated back to the 12th century when the Colepeper family held it during the rein of King John. Much later, the estate came into the ownership of Edward Ladd Betts, a railway engineer who built the present Preston Hall before he was ruined by financial speculation. As a result, the property passed to the Brassey family.

Later still, another owner, Madame Sauber, let the Hall for use as a Red Cross Convalescent Home during WW1 and when the war was over it became a hospital for ex-servicemen.

The village was built around it, providing homes and workshops for the families of patients at the hospital until the men could return to work themselves. The author George Orwell was one of those who received treatment for tuberculosis at Preston Hall. It was taken over by the National Health Service in 1948 as a chest hospital and later became a general hospital until the Maidstone General Hospital in Hermitage Lane opened in 1984. Today, Preston Hall houses the headquarters of the West Kent Health Authority and is also the site of the Heart of Kent Hospice, which was opened in 1992 by Diana, Princess of Wales.

British Legion Industries still provide work for ex-servicemen in the village. Most of the original houses have now been replaced, although the distinctive Preston Hall Colony bungalows are still in use on the opposite side of the A20, alongside Hermitage Lane.