Kennett is as far east as Cambridgeshire goes. The parish is roughly square, about 1,400 acres, and the River Kennett marks the county boundary with Suffolk. Across the water is Kentford, which takes its name from the ford over the same river. Newmarket is around two and a half miles to the south-west, and Kennett station, just off the A14, still has trains between Cambridge and Ipswich.
One parish, two halves
There are really two settlements here. The old village runs along the Herringswell road north of St Nicholas’ Church, tucked under the north-east face of a low plateau. Kennett End grew up by the Bury turnpike and along Station Road, and is where The Bell, a 16th-century inn and now Grade II listed, stands at the crossroads.
Most homes are newer than either. A council estate was built around 1958 to 1962 in the triangle of roads south of the village, and by 1989 it held 48 buildings and had become the effective centre of Kennett. Ten detached houses followed in 1997 and 1998 at the triangle’s north-east corner. Houses from these decades tend to suit a single-storey extension, a loft conversion or a fresh layout downstairs.
Six listed buildings and a river to respect
Kennett has only six listed buildings. St Nicholas’ Church, with work from the 12th century, is Grade II*. Kennett End farmhouse is late 15th century, timber-framed and plastered, now under a plain tile roof, with chimneys in local red and yellow brick. Home Farmhouse, the old school house and a gatehouse make up the rest. No conservation area is designated in Kennett, according to the district council’s published maps, but listed buildings still need consent for alterations, so owners of those houses should speak to the council first.
The river is worth knowing about too. A flood in 1968 destroyed the railway bridge, and in 1977 a pumping station was built east of the church to control the flow. Ground near the river is alluvium and terrace deposits, while the plateau has chalk, clay and gravel over Lower Chalk. So the right foundation for an extension depends on which of those you are standing on.
A&F and Kennett
A&F Building Services opened for business in 1993 and carries full insurance. Kennett sits on the Cambridgeshire side of the river, so planning goes to East Cambridgeshire District Council, while homes in Kentford fall under West Suffolk. We have no project here to show yet; our nearest case studies are all in Newmarket: a pantiled dormer, a cottage-style bathroom and a bedroom refurbishment under the eaves.
