Grant a man in demand

Canterbury City signed Dean Grant last week and the first thing boss Ben Smith had to do was rebuff offers from other interested clubs. Striker Grant has joined the club for a second time after leaving Faversham and Smith says City have already had two approaches for him from teams in Bostik South East. Smith and Grant are longstanding friends and the City boss says his mate is in it for the long term. He explained: “When Grant came to us before it was on an interim basis while he looked for another Bostik League club but this time he wants to stay. “I think he went back to Faversham when he did because he felt he owed Ray Turner (Town’s then boss) something but then Ray left. “As soon as he said he was available I spoke to him and he was keen to come. “We’re pleased to have him, we’ve already had two approaches from teams in Bostik South East but when I told Dean about them he just laughed.” Grant’s arrival coincides with the departure of attacking midfielder Dave Pilcher who has joined City’s Southern Counties East League rivals Deal Town. City travel to Hollands & Blair on Saturday and will be looking to make it three league wins in a row. Smith, though, won’t be underestimating the Medway side. He said: “It’s a game we are targeting for a win but they’ve picked up a bit recently and playing them at their place is always a different kettle of fish.”

Avaulted ceiling and fullheight windows create a wonderful light-filled living/dining space at the centre of this barn conversion in an acre of gardens. Wooden floors and Victorianstyle radiators add to the striking style of this 28ft x 20ft double aspect room.

Address: Ratling Road, Aylesham, near Canterbury Guide price:

Where the past meets the present

Portland Gardens is part of Peters Village, which takes its name from the Peters family who set up what became Peters Lime and Cement Works on this site in the 1850s. The family made their home at Wouldham Hall from around 1860 and at its peak the cement operation employed 1,000 men people and used the River Medway to operate 80 sailing barges, believed to be the world’s largest fleet at that time. Not everything from the works’ quarries was chalk though: the tusk and teeth of a mammoth were found in Peters Pit in 1906. Measuring more than three metres, the tusk is displayed in Rochester Guildhall Museum. The Peters’ works closed in 1925 and in 2006 councillors approved housing on the brown field site. A sculpture reflecting both past industry and the abundant wildlife of the area, greets visitors on the Peters Village roundabout by the new bridge, and the names of the works’ Thames Barge fleet inspired some street names.