Horsmonden ( ) is a village in the

borough of Tunbridge Wells The Borough of Tunbridge Wells is a local government district and borough in Kent, England. It takes its name from its main town, Royal Tunbridge Wells. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, by the merger of the municipal borough of Royal Tun ...

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. The village is located in the

Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...

of Kent. It is situated on a road leading from

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

Lamberhurst Lamberhurst ( is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The parish contains the hamlets of The Down and Hook Green. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,491, increasing to 1,706 at the 2011 Census. ...

, three miles north of the latter place. The nearest railway station is

Paddock Wood Paddock Wood is a town and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England, about southwest of Maidstone. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 8,263, falling marginally to 8,253 at the 2011 Census. Paddock Wood is a centre f ...

History

The village's name is derived from the

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

''hors'' meaning 'horse', ''bune'' ('reed') or ''burna'' ('stream') and ''denn'', a Kentish word meaning 'wooded pasture'. The village is first recorded as Horsbundenne around the turn of the twelfth century. The village was an important centre of the post-medieval

iron industry Ferrous metallurgy is the metallurgy of iron and its alloys. The earliest surviving prehistoric iron artifacts, from the 4th millennium BC in Egypt, were made from meteoritic iron-nickel. It is not known when or where the smelting of iron from ...

and the nearby Furnace Pond is one of the largest of the artificial lakes made to provide water power for the works. King Charles I visited the foundry in 1638 to watch a cannon being cast – a bronze four-pounder, forty-two inches long, now preserved in London's White Tower. The village was home to

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

's grandfather who lived at Broadford, a 15th-century clothmaster's hall, and several other of her relatives. The main Austen residence moved from Broadford to

Capel Manor House Capel Manor House is a small modern steel-framed private house in Horsmonden, in Kent in southern England. It was designed by Michael Manser for John Howard, a former Member of Parliament. It was built between 1969 and 1970. The house was con ...

which was constructed in 1860 but demolished in 1966. Many of the family's graves can be seen in the churchyard of St. Margaret's Church. There is a

gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

horse fair held on the village green each year. In 2000, the local parish council with assistance of the then-Home Secretary

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...

, ruled that due to ongoing safety concerns, the fair would not go ahead and a 5-mile exclusion zone was put in place. However, due to protests and legal action from the wider gypsy community, this decision was overturned and the fairs resumed following a compromise between the travellers and the local authorities in 2001. St Margaret's Church is located some distance away from the centre of the village, towards the neighbouring village of

Goudhurst Goudhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. It lies in the Weald, around south of Maidstone, on the crossroads of the A262 and B2079. The parish consists of three wards: Goudhurst, Kilndown and ...

. Just outside the village is the 16th-century

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

property Sprivers, which has an open garden at specific dates as part of the

National Gardens Scheme The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to th ...

Public transport

When the branch railway line to

Hawkhurst Hawkhurst is village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Nat ...

was operating, there was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

for the village. However

Horsmonden railway station Horsmonden is a closed railway station on the closed Hawkhurst Branch in Kent, England. Background The station was opened on 1 October 1892, when the line was opened from to Hope Mill, for Goudhurst & Lamberhurst. The station was equipped w ...

closed in 1961. The station site is now used as a garage called "Old Station Garage" and the stationmaster's house is now a private residence. Today the only public transport for Horsmonden is the 297 bus route previously operated by Renown, but now operated by Hams Travel and a 296 which goes to Tunbridge Wells from Paddock Wood operated by Arriva. There are also two school bus services (the 268 and the 267) operated by Hams Travel.

Cricket club

Horsmonden Cricket Club dates back to 1738. The team is first recorded in July 1738, playing against

Chislehurst Cricket Club Chislehurst Cricket Club is based in Chislehurst, Kent. Historically the club played several top-class matches in the 18th century. Its home venue was at Chislehurst Common. History Chislehurst is first recorded in July 1738 when it played London ...

Chislehurst Common Chislehurst Common is an open space in Chislehurst in the London Borough of Bromley in south-east London. It is jointly managed with St Paul's Cray Common. The common was used for cricket matches in the 18th century. It was the home venue of Ch ...

. A return match took place at an unspecified venue in Horsmonden on Friday, 21 July 1738. The club retained prominence into the 1740s. The club today is home to six cricket teams: two men's sides and four youth sides.

Notable people

* John Browne (d 1651), gunfounder, leased Brenchley Furnace, the site of which is now in Horsmonden. *

Simon Willard Simon Willard (April 3, 1753 – August 30, 1848) was a celebrated American clockmaker. Simon Willard clocks were produced in Massachusetts in the towns of Grafton and Roxbury, near Boston. Among his many innovations and timekeeping improvement ...

, (d 1676), who founded the town of

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the conflu ...

in Massachusetts Bay, was born in Horsmonden *

William Moon William Moon, Hon. LLD, FRSA, FRGS (18 December 1818 – 9 October 1894) was an Englishman who created Moon type, the first widely used practical reading alphabet for the blind. Life and career Moon was born in Horsmonden, Kent. As a smal ...

(1818–94), teacher and philanthropist, was born in Horsmonden * Ruth Thomas (b 1967), novelist, was born in Horsmonden *Ken Mills (ex-cricket player and supporter of Horsmonden Primary School) *

David Beerling David John Beerling (born 21 June 1965) is the Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Climate change mitigation and Sorby Professor of Natural Sciences in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences (APS) at the University of Sheffield, UK. He ...

FRS (born 1965). Director of the Leverhulme Centre for

Climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing Greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of greenhouse gases or Carbon sink, removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caus ...

and Sorby Professor at the University of Sheffield. Educated at Horsmonden Primary School. *

Johnny Beerling John William Beerling (born 12 April 1937) is a British radio producer and station controller. Early life Beerling attended the Sir Roger Manwood's School in Sandwich, Kent. Career National Service He began his radio career during nationa ...

(born 1937). British radio producer and station controller. Resided in Horsmonden.

References

External links

Village notes(archived)
{{authority control Civil parishes in Kent Cricket in Kent English cricket venues in the 18th century Villages in Kent