A historic building known for housing a King of England shortly before he fled the country could become a dentist surgery.

The stately house in Rochester High Street is where James II stayed briefly before he escaped to France following the Glorious Revolution in 1688.

The Grade-II listed home, which was most recently occupied by a branch of Lloyds Bank, is the subject of a planning application for six flats and a dental surgery.

If approved, there would be six flats on the first and second floors and Eastgate Dental Practice would occupy the ground floor.

The proposals are to set be decided at Medway Council’s planning committee next Wednesday (June 4) where planning officers have recommended the twin applications for approval.

It would see the demolition of a more recent extension to the rear of the property and the construction of a new one, as well as the conversion of the upper floors to create a total of five one-bed flats and one two-bed flats.

The dental surgery will include preparation rooms, an X-ray equipment room, specialist surgery rooms, a dental implant centre, and a training room/lecture room adjoining a surgery on the ground floor.

Eastgate Dental Practice estimates the new premises will enable them to treat around 50 additional patients per day, on top of their current numbers of 100 to 125 daily patients.

The building has been vacant since Lloyds bank moved out of the property in 2018 and residents believe the new state-of-the-art dental practice will be a beneficial addition to the high street.

In total, 15 letters of support were submitted, including from the City of Rochester Society, which praised the bringing back into use of the building, the gain of a service, and the consideration of the historic elements of the site.

Alan Moss, president of the society, wrote: “Not only is Abdication House a building of considerable historical significance to Rochester, it is also a very prominent one in the heart of the conservation area.

“It has remained empty since Lloyds Bank vacated it some years ago and its deterioration is becoming ever more apparent.

“Members of the Society were last year invited by the new owner to visit it and to inspect his plans for its conversion into a dental practice with residential accommodation.

“Whilst we were alarmed at the way the building has deteriorated, at the same time we were impressed by the plans for its future use, including the sensitive treatment of the building’s historical features.”

The building, which is marked with a plaque commemorating its history, belonged to Sir Richard Head, MP for Rochester for 12 years and served as the town’s mayor.

When James II was deposed just three years after taking the English throne in 1685, he stayed at the house - now dubbed Abdication House - before he slipped away to France just before Christmas 1688.

James’ daughter, Mary II, and her husband William of Orange took the throne, who were much preferred because of their Protestantism, rather than James’ Catholicism.

When the writing was on the wall for James, he tried to make his escape across the Channel but was arrested in Faversham after being recognised and escorted back to London.

En route he stayed the night at Sir Richard’s townhouse, and, after finding his accommodation in the capital unsatisfactory, asked to return to Rochester.

He did so on December 14 and just over a week later he was spirited out of the country arriving at Calais on Christmas Day.

Eastgate Dental Practice currently occupies a building off the High Street, where it has been for more than 20 years, but hope move into the larger space to take on more patients.

Also included in the proposals is the removal of a Lime tree in the rear of the property which is the subject of a Tree Preservation Order (TPO).

However officers say the development’s benefits, and some dispute over whether the tree is considered a “veteran” tree, outweigh its loss - though £3,600 is requested for planting of new trees as mitigation.