The first leases were granted in 1822 and a group of tenements was erected by the two lessees, now replaced by the Greyhound public house, Herbert’s Restaurant and Stable Cottage.  Land on either side of the tenements was leased to William Bowyer, who built a cottage and had opened the first ‘village store’ and post office by 1840, and William Purdy who established his wheelwright’s shop.    The first is now a private house the second is the Porsche Showrooms where you will be standing on Purdy’s sawpit when contemplating your next car purchase.   

The most spectacular addition to the road came in 1827 with the building of the second Keston windmill known as Olive’s Mill.   Despite Luther Olive investing in a steam engine to drive his mill in 1860’s he, like all the country corn mills could not compete with the new industrial mills then appearing at the ports using cheap imported grain.   A storm in 1879 damaged the mill beyond repair and it was demolished.  

However, this proved opportune when the rector of Hayes objected to a relationship between Miss Thompson, the Church organist, and one of his parishioners, Lord Sackville Cecil.   In response Cecil wrote to the Bishop of Rochester proposing to build a new Church at his own expense over the parish boundary in Keston on the site available at Olive’s Mill which he argued would serve the growing population living so far from the parish Church.  In 1881 St. Audrey’s was opened (middle picture), standing on the foundations of the mill and, a few yards away, Millfield House was built for Miss Thompson the new church’s first organist.

The miller's house, built around 1835, became the rectory despite being nearly a mile from the Church.   The steam engine house took a new lease of life as a Church community centre offering a gymnasium and bathing facilities for men and boys amongst many other activities.  Girl Guide and Boy Scout groups met there until the 1970’s. They are now in private hands.