Part of the estate became the Royal British Legion Village in the 1920s and the hall itself was used as a hospital after World War II.

[1][8][9] Thomas had worked for Betts' brother-in-law and business partner, Samuel Morton Peto, at Somerleyton Hall in Suffolk.

He built Aylesford railway station on the Medway Valley Line to make his access to Preston Hall easier.

[5] Betts ran into financial difficulties after the banking crisis of 1866, became insolvent the following year and was forced to sell the hall which was brought by Thomas Brassey, also a railway contractor.

The couple moved to Apethorpe Hall in Northamptonshire in 1904 and sold off much of the land associated with the estate which was reduced to around 24.9 acres (10.1 ha) in area.

[9][10][11][12] After the war the site was purchased to establish a sanatorium, training colony and village for wounded servicemen and to act as a centre for the treatment of TB.

[16] The medical director of the sanatorium between 1924 and 1944 was Dr John McDougall who later went on to be Chief Tuberculosis Officer of the World Health Organization from 1945.

Gavin Astor House provides specialist nursing care and there are assisted living areas for elderly forces veterans.

[11][21] In March 2014 the hall was sold by the Department of Health to Weston Homes for a nominal fee to be converted into residential apartments.

These were the ground's only first-class fixtures[26] and were held as part of an attempt to form a rival to the Canterbury based Kent club.

[28] Kent's Second XI played a number of matches at Cobdown Sports Ground in Ditton, around 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of Preston Hall, between 1948 and 1977.

Matches are known to have been played against a variety of well-known amateur teams including I Zingari, Free Foresters, The Mote, Royal Engineers, Sevenoaks Vine and Eton Ramblers.