OS grid reference TQ705405 | Sovereign state United Kingdom Local time Tuesday 11:04 PM Dialling code 01892 | |
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Population 1,620 2,435 (2011 Census) Weather 10°C, Wind SW at 6 km/h, 86% Humidity District Borough of Tunbridge Wells | ||
Horsmonden (pronounced /hɔːzmənˈdɛn/, horzmen-DEN) is a village in the Tunbridge Wells district of Kent, England. The village is located in the Weald of Kent. It is situated on a road leading from Maidstone to Lamberhurst, three miles north of the latter place. The nearest railway station is Paddock Wood.
Contents
Map of Horsmonden, UK
Etymology
The word 'Horsmonden' is derived from the Anglo Saxon hors bunda denne (the Horse farmer valley). The first record of the village was Horsbundenne, from around the turn of the twelfth century.
History
The village was an important centre of the medieval iron industry 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 canon being cast - a bronze four-pounder, forty-two inches long, now preserved in London's White Tower.
The village was home to Jane Austen's grandfather and several other of her relatives, many of whom lived at Capel Manor House. Many of the family's graves can be seen in the churchyard of St. Margaret's Church.
There is a gypsy horse fair held on the village green each year. In 2000, the local parish council with assistance of the then-Home Secretary Jack Straw, 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.
The village church, St Margaret's, is located some distance away from the centre of the village towards the neighbouring village of Goudhurst.
Just outside the village is the 16th Century National Trust property Sprivers, which has an open garden at specific dates as part of the National Gardens Scheme.
Public transport
When the branch railway line to Hawkhurst was operating, there was a railway station for the village. However Horsmonden railway station 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 operated by Renown and a 296 which goes to Tunbridge Wells from Paddock Wood operated by Arriva.
There are also two school bus services (268 & 267) operated by Hams Travel.
Cricket club
Horsmonden Cricket Club dates back to 1738. The team is first recorded on Tuesday, 11 July 1738, in an important match against Chislehurst Cricket Club on Chislehurst Common. Chislehurst are known to have won. A return match took place at an unspecified venue in Horsmonden on Friday, 21 July 1738, and Horsmonden won this by an innings and 4 runs. The club retained prominence into the 1740s.
The club today is home to eight cricket teams: four men's sides and five youth sides.