"Brook was a small estate. At the time of the Domesday (1086) it consisted of about 350 acres. There were 7 acres of meadow, a church, mill and a small wood. In the Medieval period it was owned by the great Cathedral Church of Christ Church in Canterbury. ..... The farmyard beside the road includes a barn of 1370 which stands to the east of the yard. The Court Lodge of 1430 and later buildings occupy a roughly rectangular site beside the road. At the east corner is an empty moated area which is recorded as having been set up in 1289. It was the former centre of the farm, with hall, chapel, kitchen, barns, granary and garden for much of which there are accounts (held in the cathedral archives) for the years 1289- 1294. A mill, wine store and dovecote are also recorded.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries the site passed through private hands until, as so often happens, the barn and oast house became redundant. In 1957 Wye Agricultural college purchased the site and transferred it collection of historic agricultural materials there. It is now run by the Wye Rural Museum Trust. The site is manned by volunteers so check their website for open days, before venturing to visit there.
