Riding The Black Horse

Today I had to go back into Maidstone to finally pick my car up. After yesterday's bus fiasco I decided to let the train to take the strain. It's a bit of a longer walk to our local train station than to the bus stop but it is cheaper, quicker (it literally takes just five minutes - with a small walk to the centre of town at the other end) and the train is actually guaranteed to turn up!
My brother came with me and we were going to treat ourselves to a take away cappuccino and an almond croissant but all the coffee shops in the vicinity of our short walk were closed (they had been open in the last lockdown for takeaways). Not exactly the end of he world by any means  whatsoever but it does give you a lift to have the occasional treat in lockdown.
Today's image is a statue to Louis Edward Nolan, a Captain in the 15th Kings Hussars, in Church Street. The plaque confirms that he joined the Austrian Imperial Army in 1832 gaining expertise in horse riding and swordsmanship before becoming a captain in the British 15th Hussars in 1839. He divided his time between India and the cavalry depot in Sandling Road in Maidstone learning military tactics. We used to frequent a pub and hotel on this road called The White Rabbit (now an expensive steakhouse with a different name) which may well have previously been this depot. There was a large photograph of soldiers on the parade ground on one of the walls dating from the 1800's and I like to think that he would have been one of those soldiers in the picture. 
The building in the background of today's image is the old Kent Ophthalmic Hospital dating from 1852, built of Kentish ragstone and Grade 2 listed. When it opened it was only one of 13 eye hospitals in the whole country and only closed it's doors in 2003 after more than 150 years of treating patients. It is now yet another luxury housing development.
Gotta love a bit of local history!