Hawkhurst

Hawkhurst, is 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, 3-1/2 miles northeast of Etchingham rail station, and 4 south-south-west 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 with a telegraph office and savings bank under Staplehurst, a banking office, a hotel, a reading room and a fair on 10 Aug.  The parish comprises 6,494 acres.  Real property in 1860, £11,040.  Population in 1861, 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 perpetual curacy, united with the chapelry of All Saints, in the diocese of Canterbury.  Value, £350 with a habitable glebe house.  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, and endowed school, alms houses with £130, 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.  Population in 1861, 6,724.  Houses, 1,321.

Source:  John Marius Wilson, comp.  The Imperial Gazatteer of England and Wales. (London, England: A. Fullerton & Co., 1870).

Hawkhurst Bibliography

-- various. 'Archaeologia Cantiana'. Publisher: Kent, England: Kent Archaeological Society, various dates.  [Note:  The following volumes can be found on archive.org:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (1876), 11, 12, 13 (1880), 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 32, 34, 35, vol. 1907 supplement.]

• General references to Hawkhurst: vol. , pp.
• Currently in revision

Great Britain, Public Record Office. 'Calendar of the patent rolls preserved in the Public Record Office--Edward II, Vol. 1. 1307-1313'Each volume has own index. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Great Britain, Public Record Office. 'Inquisitions and assessments relating to feudal aids : with other analogous documents preserved in the Public Record Office, A. D. 1284-1431', Vol. 3. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Great Britain, Exchequer. 'The book of fees commonly called testa de nevill, pt. 3'. The Book of fees contains information about the holdings of feudal tenants. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Hall, Hubert, 1857-1944. 'The Red book of the Exchequer - Liber rubeus de Scaccario, Vol. 3'. The Red book of the Exchequer was a register intended to preserve important documents comprising charters, statutes of the realm, public acts (Placita), private deeds and ordinances, correspondence. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Glencross, Reginald Morshead. 'Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Vol. 1. 1559-1571'. Publisher: Genealogical Society of Utah d.b.a Historical Books on FamilySearch; http://www.familysearch.org.

Hasted, Edward. 'The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent; Containing the antient and present state of it, civil and ecclesiastical; collected from public records, and other authorities: illustrated with maps, views, antiquities, etc. The second edition, improved, corrected, and continued to the present time'. 12 volumes. Publisher: Canterbury: Printed by W. Bristow, 1797-1801. URL: British History Online

Hussey, Arthur. 'Notes on the churches in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, mentioned in Domesday book, and those of more recent date'. Publisher: London J.R. Smith,(1852).

Letters, Dr. Samantha. 'Kent', Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 (2005).  URL: British History Online.

Page, William, 1861-1934, ed.. 'The Victoria history of the county of Kent'. Publisher: London: Constable (1908).  URL: British History Online

Sharp, J. E. E. S., ed.. 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward I, File 39', Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Volume 2: Edward I. Published:(1906), pp. 315-323.  URL: British History Online.

Sharp, J. E. E. S., ed.. 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry III, File 45', Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Volume 1: Henry III. Published:(1904), pp. 296-302.  URL: British History Online.

Location of Records

The following list of records is not intended to be exhaustive.  There are many records that are awaiting discovery in archive offices throughout Kent and England.  This list is intended only to set out those records that are available via at least two relatively easy-to-access avenues.  If you have used or discover a record that would be of benefit to other researchers, that is not on this list, please send me an email with the details of the archive - name, address and archival call number.

Census | Church of England | Non-Conformist | Parish chest | Workhouse and Poor Law | Land | Assizes and Sessions | School

Census

Church Records, Church of England

Church Records, Non-Conformist

Parish chest records

Workhouse and Poor Law Records

Land Records

Assizes and Sessions Records
(poor laws, jail terms, oaths, and other municipal and public records)

School Records