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The owner of a derelict Georgian home which was demolished following a huge fire was not a hoarder but a respected schoolmaster, a friend has revealed.
The three-storey Belringham House off Sutton Valence Hill just outside Maidstone was almost razed by the flames last Saturday, and the one remaining wall had to be pulled down because it was in danger of collapsing onto the road.
Neighbours had spoken of the house laying empty for years, although still full of furniture, personal papers and possessions.
The house had belonged to Sydney Arthur Prall, who was known as Mickey.
It had been his parents' home, after they purchased it in the 1940s.
It is believed Mr Prall spent his childhood there. He was a student at Cranbook School, but for many years he had lived in Northamptonshire, where he taught at Wellingborough School, a co-educational independent school.
He left his flat in Castle Street, Wellingborough, to return to Belringham House only occasionally for a holiday.
Most of the bric-a-brac, papers and books in the home had belonged to his parents.
Neil Lyon is the archivist at Wellingborough School and knew Mr Prall well.
Mr Lyon said: "I have seen some online posts that described Mickey as a hoarder and recluse.
"That is certainly not the case. He was a real gentleman and very popular at the school. He was very fit and active right up to the end.
"Many of the items stored at Belringham House had belonged to his father, who had been a doctor in the medical service with the British Army in India. Mickey had in fact been born in India."
On leaving Cranbrook School, Mr Prall studied for an IAPS Diploma in Education, and then joined the staff of Lichfield Cathedral School before arriving as assistant master at Wellingborough's Junior School in 1964, aged 22.
For 37 years he was president of Lions - one of the school's six "clubs" or houses - and he was also responsible for organising the games programme and the annual Sports Day.
He was a great rugby fan and introduced the game to the school and ran its 1st XV.
He also refereed the game outside of class, and after retirement in July 2002 acted as a referees’ assessor, travelling extensively around the
country.
Mr Prall died suddenly on May 8, 2019, aged 77.
He had no surviving relatives and left his estate - including Belringham House - to various charities and to Wellingborough School, that had been such a large part of his life.
But Mr Lyon explained that the executors of the will had experienced problems.
He said: "There was no proper vehicular access to Belringham House. The gateway had an arch over it, just 9ft high, and it wasn't even possible to get a proper truck in to begin clearance of the property."
In fact, only two months ago, in May, the executors, the Lloyds Bank Estate Administration Service, had submitted a planning application to Maidstone council seeking permission to create a new access and driveway through the boundary wall, for just such a purpose.
The application remained undetermined at the time of the fire.
Mr Lyon said it was a great shame the house had burnt down, but he sought to re-assure people who may have seen online an "Urban Explorer's" video from inside the property, which had shown many personal items still in the house.
He said: "I personally visited the house and removed all the papers and items of personal, sentimental or historic value such as his father's papers, after that video was made. They have been distributed to various historic archives as appropriate."
He said: "There really was nothing of any value left in the house."
Even before the fire, the house had been broken into many times, and the walls sprayed with graffiti.
Police say they are treating the blaze as suspicious.
Video of the damage at the house
