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Hawkhurst

Hawkhurst photos (25 available)

Old photo of Hawkhurst

Hawkhurst maps (2 available)

Old map of Hawkhurst

Hawkhurst books (30 available)

Hawkhurst memories

My home hawkhurst

I grew up in hawkhurst , i lived in gills green in hawkhurst , hawkhurst has a close community everybody knew everybody , most familys that lived there had lived there for years even generations . my dads family had lived there for many years . i have very fond memorys of hawkhurst while i was growing up , the tractors going up and down the road all day . where i lived there were farms all around us. I could smell fresh wood from the wood factory just up the road , i would wake up to the sound of sheep barring in the fields just across the road and birds singing . The kind of thing you would see ...read more here
Contributed by susanne jones

Kent memories

My home hawkhurst

I grew up in hawkhurst , i lived in gills green in hawkhurst , hawkhurst has a close community everybody knew everybody , most familys that lived there had lived there for years even generations . my dads family had lived there for many years . i have very fond memorys of hawkhurst while i was growing up , the tractors going up and down the road all day . where i lived there were farms all around us. I could smell fresh wood from the wood factory just up the road , i would wake up to the sound of sheep barring in the fields just across the road and birds singing . The kind of thing you would see ...read more here
A memory of Hawkhurst contributed by susanne jones

Visiting my parents in Iden Green

I have very fond memories of visiting my parents, Margaret & Percy Thorburn who owned Coveney Cottage from 1961 until 1980.

We used to come down from London on the National Coach to Benenden and then a Fuggles Garage car/taxi would take us down to Iden Green. Alternatively we would meet my parents in the pub (name temporarily forgotten) and have a drink before driving back to their cottage.

I remember the village when it had its own public house and village shop, and lots of the older residents, Fred & Lily of Lilac Cottage, Mrs Daw from the other half of Coveney Cottage, Joan Witterkoff of Seerose Cottage, to name but a few.

My parents are ...read more here
A memory of Iden Green contributed by Anne Kennedy

Car-number-plate collecting

Lamberhurst, the Broadway from the Bridge c1960

Brings back memories of hot Sunday afternoons sitting on the bridge with my mates collecting car number-plates. I was nine years old and lived at 1 Workhouse Cottages, in Brewer Street with Miss Mabel Alice Ranger. I was a little tyke with short long trousers. I also remember swinging on the pendulum of the school clock and getting the cane for it. I was not at school often as I tended to play truant. I remember all the shops in the village: Curtis the newsagents, Avards the Bakers and the old hairdressers shop on the corner. There was also a confectioners called Fullers - opposite The Chequers - where I used to get ice-cream and fizzy pop. As lads we would ...read more here
A memory of Lamberhurst contributed by Roger Barden

Extracts From Hawkhurst & Kent books

Hawkhurst, 1902

The village stands on the border with the neighbouring county of Sussex. It occupies rising ground and offers fine views across the Weald. It was once a substantial market centre, and in the 1890s had a small village hospital, a lecture-hall and a reading-room. Babies’ Castle, a nursery home for infants, was opened here in 1886 by Dr?Barnardo. In the background is All Saints Church, erected in 1861 in the French Gothic style, with nave, aisles and lofty spire. Farrant & Sons, family grocers and local provision store, are advertising Mazawattee and Ceylon teas, as well as announcing that they are agents for Gilbey’s wines and spirits. In the 18th century, Hawkhurst was the base of the dreaded ‘Hawkhurst gang’. In the centre of the view is a bill board advertisement announcing the appearance of David Garrick, presumably in the hall behind. Does anyone remember who he was?
An extract from from"Villages of Kent Photographic Memories".

Hawkhurst, Highgate 1902

This broad, open street is the newer part of Hawkhurst, seen in the days before modern motor traffic took over. The only vehicle visible is the fine coach parked up on the left by the tree.
An extract from from"Villages of Kent Photographic Memories".

Hawkhurst, the Village and Moor Hill 1902

This scattered village is situated in the heart of the Weald. It is an old centre with a 15th-century church, which has many fine treasures. Weatherboarded cottages surround the tree-lined green. There is also an elegant Regency parade of shops, the Colonnade, situated at the crossroads. This view looks towards the spire of the church across the valley. Its shows a cart ascending Moor Hill, past typically Kentish half-weatherboarded cottages.
An extract from from"English Villages".

Hawkhurst, the Village and Moor Hill 1902

This scattered village is situated in the heart of the Weald. It is an old centre with a 15th- century church, which has many fine treasures. Its weatherboarded cottages surround its tree lined green. There is also an elegant Regency parade of shops, the Colonnade, situated at the crossroads.
An extract from from"Kent Photographic Memories".

Hawkhurst, Colonade 1904

The photographer moved back down the road and caught the colonnade of shops, one of Hawkhurst’s best known features; this is an early 19th-century shopping arcade with weatherboarded houses and cast-iron columns.
An extract from from"Kent Photographic Memories".