Visit Goudhurst Places

Welcome to Visit Goudhurst Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Goudhurst

  

Goudhurst Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Goudhurst

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Goudhurst history

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The Battle of Goudhurst in 1747 led to the end of the Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers and the execution of local gang leader Thomas Kingsmill. The village was one of those involved in the Wealden iron industry; it was a centre for the growing of hops and for weaving.

St Mary’s Church

St Mary’s church was founded in 1170 by Robert de Crevecour. Until 1637 it had a tall spire which was destroyed by lightning in that year. During the Victorian era the church was restored by the architects William Slater and Richard Carpenter.

Bedgebury

Bedgebury is one of the oldest estates in Kent. It passed into the hands of the Culpeper family in 1450. A new house was built which itself became a girls’ school in the 1920s. In 2007 the school was purchased by the Bell Educational Trust.

Village Green

A former Glebe Field at the East end of St Mary’s Church was registered as a village green by Kent County Council in June 2016. It is owned by the Diocese of Canterbury and is maintained by Goudhurst Parish Council.

Public transport

Branch railway line from Paddock Wood had a station for the village. It was opened on 1 October 1892 and was originally named ‘Hope Mill for Goudhurst and Lamberhurst’ before being renamed ‘Goudhurst’ on 4 September 1893. The station was closed on 12 June 1961 because of lack of use.

Goudhurst etymology

The word Goudhurst is derived from Goud Hurst, the “Good Hurst” (an opening in a forest) due to the hill’s strategic position within the local landscape. A less plausible (but attractive) derivation is the Old English guo hyrst, or the wooded hill on which a battle has been fought.

You can visit Goudhurst places with Walkfo Goudhurst to hear history at Goudhurst’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Goudhurst has 15 places to visit in our interactive Goudhurst map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Goudhurst, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Goudhurst places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Goudhurst & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 15 audio facts unique to Goudhurst places in an interactive Goudhurst map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Goudhurst Places Map
15 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Goudhurst historic spots	Goudhurst tourist destinations	Goudhurst plaques	Goudhurst geographic features
Walkfo Goudhurst tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Goudhurst

  

Best Goudhurst places to visit

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Goudhurst has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Goudhurst’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Goudhurst’s information audio spots:

St. Mary’s Church, Goudhurst The Church of St. Mary the Virgin is the 13th-century Anglican parish church for the village of Goudhurst in Kent. It was a major surveying point in the Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790) to measure the precise distance between the Paris Observatory and the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

Pattyndenne Manor Pattyndenne Manor is a Grade II* listed manor house. It is located near to the village of Goudhurst, Kent.

Finchcocks Finchcocks is an early Georgian manor house in Goudhurst, Kent. For 45 years it housed a large, visitor-friendly museum of keyboard instruments. The museum was run by the owners of the house, Richard and Katrina Burnett.

HM Prison Blantyre House HM Prison Blantyre House was a Category C/D resettlement prison for men. The prison was operated by Her Majesty’s Prison Service until it closed in January 2016. As of 2018 the prison still remains closed, but the Ministry of Justice have stated the prison is still available to use and may have a future as a training facility.

Visit Goudhurst plaques