Hawkhurst has over 1,000 years of recorded history. 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. At the time of the
Domesday Book in 1086, the parish was mainly in the
Lathe of Wye. The ancient parish of Hawkhurst straddles the boundaries of four
hundreds, including three that by 1295 were parts of the south of the
Lathe of Scray in
East Kent. The western portion of the parish of Hawkhurst was the entirety of the hundred of Great Barnfield (or East Barnfield). The eastern portion of the parish was partially in the hundred of
Cranbrook and the hundred of
Selbrittenden. Some acreage of the eastern portion was also in the hundred of
Henhurst in the
Rape of Hastings,
East Sussex.
Iron industry The village is located towards the Eastern end of the Weald, where iron has been produced from Roman times. The Weald produced over a third of all iron in Britain, and over 180 sites have been found across the Weald.
Ironstone was taken from clay beds, then heated with charcoal from the abundant woods in the area. The iron was used to make everything from Roman ships to medieval cannon, and many of the Roman roads in the area were built to transport the iron.
William Penn, founder of the state of
Pennsylvania, is erroneously claimed to have owned ironworks at Hawkhurst. The industry eventually declined during the industrial revolution of the 18th Century, when coal became the preferred method of heating, and could not be found nearby.
Hop growing In the 14th century,
Edward III, wanting to break the Flemish (Dutch) monopoly on
weaving, encouraged Flemish weavers to come to England. Many chose to settle in the Weald, because it had all the elements needed for weaving – oak to make mills, streams to drive them, and
fuller's earth to treat the cloth. The Kentish domination of the hop industry was stimulated by that same influx of Flemish weavers, who brought with them a taste for beer, and beer making skills. Several wealthy Kentish farmers invested in this new opportunity and approach. Although not the centre of the industry, Hawkhurst Brewery and Malthouse was built in 1850, on the edge of
Hawkhurst Moor (now a house). Hop growing also gave the area its distinctive skyline of hop gardens and
oast houses, which were used to dry the hops. Nowadays, most hops are imported. However, at its peak of hop gardens existed in England, almost all of them in Kent, including much around Hawkhurst. Eventually mechanisation and cheap imports ended the industry, but the oast houses remain.
The Hawkhurst Gang A witness before a 1745 Committee of Enquiry estimated there were 20,000
smugglers operating in Britain at that time. An infamous group, the "Holkhourst Genge", terrorised the surrounding area between 1735 and 1749. They were the most notorious of the Kent gangs, and were feared all along the south coast of England. At Poole in Dorset, where they had launched an armed attack on the customs house (to take back a consignment of tea that had been confiscated), several were hanged including
Thomas Kingsmill, one of the gang's leaders. A number of inns and local houses in Hawkhurst claim associations with the gang: high taxation on luxury goods in the early 18th century had led to an upsurge in smuggling, and the gang brought in brandy, silk and tobacco up from Rye and Hastings to be stowed away in hidden cellars and passages, before being sold off to the local gentry. It was reputed that when needed for a smuggling run, 500 mounted and armed men could be assembled within the hour. The
Battle of Goudhurst eventually brought their career to an end. == Transport ==