A HISTORIC house "and a piece of village history" has been destroyed in a blaze.

Villlagers at Headcorn, near Maidstone, were left taking stock of the smoking ruins of The Chantry in Grigg Lane on Saturday morning after an overnight blaze ripped through the derelict building.

Four pumps from Maidstone, Lenham and Tenterden attended the fire, after crews received a 999-call just before one in the morning. Firefighter Richard Howell said: "We could see the big red glow from a mile away as we approached. When we arrived, there were already flames coming from all the windows and it was going very well."

Problems with securing an adequate supply of water meant the firefighters had to call in a water unit and it was four hours before the flames were extinguished.

The building was left largely destroyed with the roof gone, the kitchen gutted and the study destroyed.

The homes, whic had its origins in the 15th century had been the subject of campaign by villagers to prevent its demolition by developers Rydon Homes, who wanted to replace it with two semi-detached properties to complete the new estate they had built around it.

The developers had recently won planning permission to go ahead with the demolition after English Heritage refused to back the parish council's request that the building should be listed.

Neighbour Lee Barnett, from Grigg Lane, who had organised a petition to save the building, said: "It's such a pity. Even though we had lost the battle, there were a lots of historc features in the building that might have been rescued and re-used elsewhere. Now, everything, including the lovely wood panelling has gone. A piece of village history has been lost."

The house was most recently occupied by members of the Foreman family, who had been prominent in the Headcorn business community, but it had been empty for several years.

The cause of the blaze is being investigated.