Visit Iden Green Places

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

  

Iden Green Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Iden Green

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Iden Green history

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The discovery of various fragments of Iron Age pottery, struck flint flakes and iron slag, indicate that some areas of the parish were settled during the Iron Age, perhaps as early as 1500 BC. Iden Green’s main street, Mill Street, was a Roman Road that connected Hastings to Maidstone, so the village began its main growth along a ‘Roman thoroughfare’ centred around the existing farmsteads of Eaglesden, Iden Green Farm and Yew Tree Farm; which had organically nestled themselves into the Wealden landscape with their far reaching views of the rolling valleys. However, the village expanded to its greatest extent during the 16th century, as part of Cranbrook’s thriving Wealden cloth industry, as is clearly evidenced by the numerous workmen’s cottages that sprung up in the village during that time, many of which still exist today. The manor of Benenden, which included Iden Green, was given by William the Conqueror to his brother Odo the Bishop of Baieux in 1067 and the manor is one of the few parish’s in the Weald included in the Doomsday Book of 1086, by name. A paved ford built in Roman times still exists in Iden Green, having been discovered during excavations in 1935. It was common around AD43 for the Romans to pave fords in Britain to allow easy access by pedestrians, horses and carts. The Paved Ford in Iden Green is protected by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as being of national and historic importance. The first Ordnance Survey map of the area, surveyed 1870–1871 and published in 1887, details that the village centred around four main farms; the largest being Eaglesden manor, its oast, workers cottages and its farm, in the south of the village, in addition to Iden Green Farm to the east (along Weavers Lane), Yew Tree Farm which occupied the centre of the current village and Framefarm in the northern area. Other houses mentioned in this first Ordnance Survey of the area include Thorne Charity House (near the site of the current tennis club), Smithey (near the site of the monument on the corner of Standen Street) and Albion Cottage (opposite Mr Noah’s Nursery). Hemsted Park was granted to the Guldefords in 1388 and the family became a large part of the history of the parish for over 300 years. Richard Guldeford’s official title was ‘Richard Guildford of Hemsted in Benenden and Halden in Rolvenden’ and he fought alongside Henry VII when he gained the Crown at Bosworth Field in 1485. Hemsted became a great house with a hunting park and was visited by Queen Elizabeth I, hosting her for over 3 nights in 1573. In 1702, Hemsted was sold to the Admiral of the Fleet, Sir John (Foulweather Jack) Norris. The house itself was modernised during and after Sir John’s ownership. His grandson, John Norris, came to live there with his wife, Kitty Fisher. She is famed in a nursery rhyme as the one who found Lucy Locket’s pocket (she lived at Babb’s Farm) and was ‘buried in her best ball-gown’ in Benenden churchyard. Commemorative wells were built in the parish to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887 in Benenden, and the Diamond Jubilee in 1897 in Iden Green. Lord Rothermere bought Hemsted in 1912 and during 1923-24 the estate was dispersed. Benenden School bought Hemsted House and park and the farms were sold at auction in Maidstone. Symbolic of the end of an era was the felling of the great Hemsted Oak in New Pond Road, ‘probably the finest specimen of an oak in the South of England’. The trunk, weighing eight tons, went to the Wembley Exhibition of 1924. Lord Rothermere became a great benefactor to the parish of Benenden and Iden Green, giving to Benenden, the St George’s Club, War Memorial, and recreation ground (where the village hall now stands) and giving to Iden Green, two allotment fields and the Iden Green recreation ground and Pavilion. In addition, he set up a trust fund for their maintenance which still exists today, almost 100 years later. The current Lord Rothermere, Jonathan Harmsworth – the 4th Viscount Rothermere, is the owner of Associated Newspapers, publishers of the Daily Mail, Mail On Sunday and Metro. On 6 March 2016, HRH Princess Anne The Princess Royal, an ex-pupil of Benenden School for Girls, visited Iden Green to open six new homes on Standen Street as part of Kent’s affordable housing scheme. This was in addition to the six houses built in 1994. The land had been gifted to the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council by Viscount Rothermere.

Iden Green landmarks

Iden Green Pavilion has a capacity of 70 and today serves as a village hall for the local village community. Between 1945 and 1954 the Pavilion served as the village church following the doodlebug bomb damage to the village’s chapel. The building of the new Congregational Church on New Pond Road in 1954 returned use of the Pavilion to village hall.

Iden Green geography / climate

Iden Green is situated between Staplehurst to the north, Tenterden to the east, Hawkhurst to the south and Cranbrook to the west. The geology of the High Weald consists largely of a series of hard standstone strata, underlain by heavy clays.

You can visit Iden Green places with Walkfo Iden Green to hear history at Iden Green’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Iden Green has 15 places to visit in our interactive Iden Green 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 Iden Green, 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 Iden Green places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Iden Green & the surrounding areas.

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

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

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

  

Best Iden Green places to visit

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

Union Mill, Cranbrook Union Mill is a Grade I listed smock mill in Cranbrook, Kent, England, which has been restored to working order. It is the tallest mill in the United Kingdom.

Swifts Park Swifts Park is a former country estate and manor house 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east of Cranbrook in Kent. At its greatest extent it covered an area of around 158 hectares (390 acres) The grounds held two first-class cricket matches played by Kent County Cricket Club in the 1860s.

Hemsted Park Hemsted Park is a 100 hectares (250 acres) former country estate and manor house. It is the site of Benenden School, an independent boarding school for girls. The park was the seat of the Guldeford baronets until 1718. A single first-class cricket match was held at the park in 1843.

Visit Iden Green plaques