Hawkhurst, Kent — the Crossroads of the Weald
Visit Hawkhurst
A guide to the village of Hawkhurst on the Kent and Sussex border: where to stay, where to eat and drink, what to see nearby, the clubs and churches and charities that run the place, and the diary and noticeboard the village kept for itself.
Explore by section
Accommodation 46
Hotels, inns, bed and breakfasts, holiday cottages and self-catering in and around Hawkhurst.
Bed and Breakfast Glamping Holiday Cottages Hotels Self Catering
Food and Drink 22
Pubs, restaurants, tea rooms, cafés and the places that make and sell food locally.
Attractions
Castles, gardens, museums, railways and National Trust and English Heritage sites within easy reach.
Castles Churches English Heritage Sites Gardens Local Web Sites
Shopping 1
Village stores, bakeries, butchers, markets and the independent shops of Highgate and the Moor.
Businesses 6
Local trades and services — decorators, plumbers, handymen, catering, event hire and more.
Building Services Call Answering Services Event Hire Gardening Railways
Organisations 7
Churches, charities, clubs and the village and town halls that hold Hawkhurst together.
Property
Estate agents and property services covering Hawkhurst and the surrounding villages.
Event Diary
Festivals, talks, exhibitions, quiz nights and village markets from the archived diary.
Message Board
The community noticeboard — family-history questions, local memories and village news.
How to Get Here
Roads, the nearest railway stations, and the airports and ports within reach of the village.
Notable places
A hand-picked few from the 83 places in the directory.
The Royal Oak Hotel
Listed under Hotels in the Hawkhurst directory.
The Bell Hotel
Listed under Pubs in the Hawkhurst directory.
The Queen's Inn
Listed under Pubs in the Hawkhurst directory.
The Weald Smokery
Listed under Food and Drink in the Hawkhurst directory.
The Vineyard
Listed under Freehouse Restaurants in the Hawkhurst directory.
Artichoke Gallery
Listed under Art Galleries in the Hawkhurst directory.
The Hop Pickers Line Project
Listed under Partnership Innitiatives in the Hawkhurst directory.
Hawkhurst Football Club
Listed under Football Clubs in the Hawkhurst directory.
About the village
Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, and is home to some 4,500 people. Hawkhurst itself is virtually two villages—one, the older of the two, consisting mainly of cottages clustered around a large triangular green known as the Moor, and the other, farther north on the main road, called Highgate. Each part has a different character. Highgate stands on a crossroads and is where the shops and hotels lie.
The village was involved in the Wealden iron industry until the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th Century. William Penn, founder of the state of Pennsylvania, owned ironworks at Hawkhurst in the 17th century.
The history of Hawkhurst goes back over 1,000 years. The oldest known settlement was the Saxon manor of Congehurst, which was burnt by the Danes in 893 AD. There is still a lane of this name to the east of the village.
The name Hawkhurst is derived from Old English heafoc hyrst, meaning a wooded hill frequented by hawks - 'Hawk Wood'. Hurst (Hyrst) in a place name refers to a wood or wooded area - there are several in West Kent and East Sussex. The 11th Century Domesday Monacorum refers to it as Hawkashyrst, belonging to Battle Abbey. In 1254, the name was recorded as Hauekehurst; in 1278, it is often shown as Haukhurst; by 1610, it had changed to Hawkherst, which then evolved into the current spelling.
Further information about the history of the village, its changing industries over the years and its famous inhabitants can be found here.
You may also want to explore the surrounding villages that form our hinterland.
The text above is the introduction the original village guide carried on its front page. More about this site and where its content comes from.
From the event diary
- A Wealden Woman S War near Hawkhurst, Kent
- Alan Rankle Exhibition near Hawkhurst, Kent
- Banish The January Blues near Hawkhurst, Kent
- Blue Cross Summer Fete & Fun Dog Show near Hawkhurst, Kent
- Caribbean Food Night near Hawkhurst, Kent
- Defences Of The Cinque Ports near Hawkhurst, Kent
About this guide
Visit Hawkhurst was the village's own community website from 2010 until 2018. This site preserves its directory, event diary and message board at their original addresses so that the record of the village — its pubs, cottages, clubs, walks and local memories — stays findable. Listings show the details the guide last recorded and are marked with the date of that record; they are not live bookings and we are not connected with any business listed. Read more, or tell us about a correction.