A new retirement living complex is to be named after the historic building which once stood on the site.

Corn Mill Place is the name chosen by McCarthy Stone for its new development of 37 apartments at Dunton Green near Sevenoaks.

It runs alongside the River Darent and the name reflects the old Longford Mill which was once in its place and powered by a water wheel.

The most recent mill was constructed in 1859 by Weeks of Maidstone and originally had an internal cast iron overshot waterwheel which was 12ft in diameter. It was later replaced by an even larger breastshot waterwheel.

It was considered unusual as the mill house adjoined the mill building and its three pairs of mill stones.

An 1881 census shows the “master flour miller” to have been someone called John Hamlin, who employed three men and lived at the mill with his wife Annie and their four children and a serving girl.

The mill was in commercial use until 1947, although by then the water wheel had been replaced by an electrically powered system.

It was demolished at the end of 1987 and was subsequently replaced by a car workshop and showroom, which mostly recently operated as RobIn and Day Vauxhall.

McCarthy and Stone was given planning permission for its retirement complex in July 2022. The complex will be a mixture of one and two-bedroom apartments with communal areas. Details can be found here.

It is thought that Longfield Mill was a replacement for an earlier 18th century mill on the site.

Sales director Sam Burley said: “Longford Mill played a leading role in Dunton Green’s industrial growth. We thought it was only fitting to recognise the rich history of the site in the name of our new community.”

The company said it intended to work with local history groups to see if there were some additional way to pay tribute to the area’s heritage within the development.

That history includes a lido – an outdoor swimming pool – built close to the mill in the 1930s, which was in use until 1952 and whose remains could still be viewed in the 1970s.

It was subsequently covered over by the Mill Road housing estate.

*If anyone has a photograph of Longford Mill they are happy for us to use, please email ajsmith@thekmgroup.co.uk