A property auction next week marks the end of an era for the Mercury.

Our Deal office, from which our teams toiled away for a great many decades to bring you your weekly paper, is to go under the hammer.

The office block, contained within the period property at 13 Queen Street, is now vacant.

It is among 131 lots listed for sale by Clive Emson, the land and property auctioneers, ahead of its online sale on Wednesday.

Auctioneer Kevin Gilbert said: “The property might be suitable for offices or other commercial uses.

“It might be converted into residential accommodation as long as all necessary consents are obtainable.

“There is a courtyard with further land offering parking for a number of cars.”

It has the remainder of a 500-year lease from 1808 and has a guide price of £150,000-plus.

Until the 1970s Mercury editorial staff were based in an old cottage, Rush House, that still sits behind the main Mercury office in Queen Street and is now a private residence.

They moved a matter of feet away, to the upstairs small rooms to the first floor of the front office in Queen Street.

From there vast changes took hold in the newsroom and the coming decades resulted in digitisation and the birth of our award winning website Kentonline.co.uk.

In June 2015 the Mercury celebrated its 150th anniversary.

For more information on the auction, click here for more details.

Need to contact us? In line with government guidelines, our staff will be working from home for the foreseeable future. If you have a story email mercurynews@thekmgroup.co.uk or call 07730093865

Read more: All the latest news from Deal