A riverside pub dating back to the mid-1740s is on the market for £500,000.

The North Foreland in Rochester High Street, which closed in 2009, was a well-known watering hole for local dignitaries and characters including MPs, police officers and journalists.

It’s thought the quirky-looking building with its neo-Tudor facade, and irregularly shaped brick and stone walls has always been a tavern probably frequented by mariners alighting from the nearby creek.

It once belonged to the Dutch East India Company and features an old fireplace which represents the four corners of the world.

The Grade-II listed hostelry has been empty for many years and in 2014 the three-storey building was given planning permission to convert into six one-bedroom flats, an application which has since expired.

It is located between Chatham and Rochester an area designated as a Heritage Action Zone with £1.6 million government funding for ongoing regeneration and conservation projects.

It was due to go under the hammer at auction on Thursday but the lot had to be withdrawn because of incomplete paperwork.

A spokesman for the auctioneers, Town and Country, said there has been a lot of interest in the property and it is due to be resubmitted in the next sale in January.

It’s being billed by the agents as a “fantastic development opportunity”.

It currently comprises commercial ground and lower floors with a three to four bedroom maisonette apartment above.

Outside, the lane to the left leading to the waterfront is included in the sale and there is a sizeable courtyard to the side and back – once used as a sun trap beer garden.

Evidence from maps and written reports, as well as the surviving built fabric, suggests this area was being developed in the late 16th century and early 17th century with high-end residences.

Some of these were associated with prominent naval figures such as Sir John Hawkins, treasurer to the Royal Navy from 1577, and the Pett family, master shipwrights at Deptford and Chatham at the time.

Although it has undergone refurbishment over the years, it retains many period features such as a Jacobean mantel over the grand fireplace and elaborate panelling, some dating back to the 18th century.

Do you know of a pub which deserves recognition in the Kent and Medway Food and Drink Awards? Nominate here.

For more information about the North Foreland, contact, Town and Country Property Auctions on 01932 548500.