In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Hawkhurst like this:
HAWKHURST, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in Cranbrook district, Kent; but part of the parish and the sub-district also in Sussex. The village stands near the river Rother, 3½ miles NE of Etchingham r. station, and 4 SSW of Cranbrook; occupies a rising ground, with fine views over the Weald; was once a market town, and was noted, in last century, as a resort of smugglers; is now a charming place; and has a post office‡ under Staplehurst, a banking office, a hotel, a reading room, and a fair on 10 Aug. ...
The parish comprises 6, 494 acres. Real property, ".11, 040. Pop., 2, 715. Houses, 529. The property is subdivided. The manor belonged to Battle abbey. Lillesden, Collingwood House, and Fowler's Park are handsome seats; Elfords is an ancient Tudor mansion; and Risden House, Oakfield Lodge and others are pleasant residences. There is a private lunatic asylum. There were formerly iron furnaces, belonging to William Penn, the courtier Quaker. The part of the parish within Sussex comprises 2, 060 acres; had no houses at the census of 1861; and was separated from the rest of the parish by an alteration in the course of the river Rother, caused by the erection of a bridge. The living is a vicarage, united with the chapelry of All Saints, in the diocese of Canterbury. Value, £350. * Patron, Christ Church, Oxford. The parochial church is decorated and perpendicular English; consists of lofty nave, aisles, chancel, and side chapels, with square embattled tower; and was restored in 1860 and previous years, at a cost of nearly £3, 000. All Saints church stands at Highgate; was erected in 1861;. is in the French Gothic style; and consists of nave, chancel, and aisles, with a spire. There are a Wesleyan chapel, a national school, an endowed school, almshouses with £180, and other charities with £41. Dr. Lardner, author of " the Credibility of the Gospel History, , ' was a native.—The sub-district contains also two other parishes. Acres, 20, 561. Pop., 6, 724. Houses, 1, 321.
Hawkhurst through time
Hawkhurst is now part of Tunbridge Wells district. Click here for graphs and data of how Tunbridge Wells has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Hawkhurst itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Hawkhurst, in Tunbridge Wells and Kent | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/3055
Date accessed: 17th April 2024
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