Hawkenbury is a small village area located in the south east of

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England.

History

Hawkenbury was settled before Tunbridge Wells itself was founded in the 17th century, and at one time fell within the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

Frant Frant is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, on the Kentish border about three miles (5 km) south of Royal Tunbridge Wells. When the iron industry was at its height, much of the village was owned ...

, which was divided between Kent and Sussex. It was originally known as "Hockenbury". Bacon's 1912 map of Tunbridge Wells shows the centre of Hawkenbury lying along Hawkenbury Road, being that area currently lying south of the recreation ground. The Victorian estate around Sibby's Corner was not then considered part of Hawkenbury. Hawkenbury had no less than four places of worship, being a Congregationalist chapel (now

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

) at Sibby's Corner, a St. Peter's Mission on the junction of Forest Road and Napier Road, an unnamed church on Hawkenbury Road (below the present site of Hawkenbury Mews) and a second Congregationalist chapel lay below the present site of the Hawkenbury Road allotments, as did a number of village dwellings. Beyond agriculture, the residents were employed in the Brickfields, lying due east of present-day Maryland Road. South of Brickfields were a plethora of now-vanished farm buildings, the remains of which can still be traced from the footpath off Chieveley Drive. In 1912 Halls Hole Road was called Marlpits Lane and Whybourne Gate Farm lay on the site of the current Whybourne Crest.

Governance

Hawkenbury is located within the Park

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Tunbridge Wells, and elects three councillors to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. Hawkenbury is not part of a parish council (the Borough Council acts as the Parish). Hawkenbury falls under the Tunbridge Wells South district at

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

level. Hawkenbury is part of the constituency of

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

at a national level. Prior to

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...

in 2020, it was represented by the South East England constituency for the

European Union parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopt ...

Transport

The closest railway station is

. Buses serve Hawkenbury from Monday to Saturday, and are provided by Nu-Venture.

Parks and open spaces

Farmcombe Road Open Space is a small open green area. Camden Park contains a pastoral area, known as The Meadow, in the middle of an estate developed by

Lord Camden Marquess Camden is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1812 for the politician John Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden. The Pratt family descends from Sir John Pratt, Lord Chief Justice from 1718 to 1725. His third son from hi ...

in the mid-19th century. The Hawkenbury Recreation Ground is a large public space that has

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

and football pitches,

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s, an all-weather pitch and a children's play area. There are also allotments in Hawkenbury, in Halls Hole Road, managed by the Hawkenbury Allotment Holders' Association.

References

{{authority control Villages in Kent Royal Tunbridge Wells