Visit Hawkhurst Places

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

  

Hawkhurst Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Hawkhurst

---

Hawkhurst history

---

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.

Etymology

Hawkhurst is derived from Old English heafoc hyrst, meaning a wooded hill frequented by hawks – ‘Hawk Wood’ Hurst (Hyrst) in a place name refers to a wood or wooded area – there are several in West Kent and East Sussex.

Iron industry

Hawkhurst 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 area. Iron was used to make everything from Roman ships to medieval cannon.

Hop growing

Hawkhurst Brewery and Malthouse was built in 1850, on the edge of The Moor (now a house) Hop growing gave the area its distinctive skyline of hop gardens and oast houses, which were used to dry the hops. Eventually mechanisation and cheap imports ended the industry, but the oasts houses remain.

The Hawkhurst Gang

The “Holkhourst Genge” terrorised Hawkhurst, Kent, between 1735 and 1749. They were feared all along the south coast of England. High taxation on luxury goods in the early 18th century had led to an upsurge in smuggling.

You can visit Hawkhurst places with Walkfo Hawkhurst to hear history at Hawkhurst’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Hawkhurst has 7 places to visit in our interactive Hawkhurst 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 Hawkhurst, 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 Hawkhurst places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Hawkhurst & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 7 audio facts unique to Hawkhurst places in an interactive Hawkhurst map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Hawkhurst Places Map
7 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

---

–

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

  

Best Hawkhurst places to visit

---

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

Sandhurst War Memorial The memorial is one of fifteen War Crosses by Sir Edwin Lutyens and arguably the one with the most elaborate setting. It was unveiled in 1923 and is today a grade II listed building.

b

Visit Hawkhurst plaques