England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Hawkhurst St Lawrence

The Parish

The parish of Hawkhurst lies in the extreme south of central Kent, indeed it forms a substantial part of the border with neighbouring Sussex; the parish has a tiny peculiarity in that a small part of its area lies within the latter county. Hawkhurst is located deep in the Wealden portion of Kent about 8 miles north of the Sussex market town of Battle. Hawkhurst sits on the A229 (Maidstone to Hastings) road at its junction with the east to west running A268. Hawkhurst is a substantial village, formerly two distinct villages (Hawkhurst, itself, and nearby Highgate), and for a short time was a small market town before that function lapsed. Most of today's settlement is grouped at Highgate where the above road junction lies whilst a smaller and almost contiguous settlement of Hawkhurst sits roughly a half mile south. At the time of this transcript Hawkhurst would have earned its living principally from agriculture with a mixed farming regime in place, hop growing was also an important crop. In addition to these agricultural activities some manufacture of cloth took place and the extensive forests of The Weald would have been exploited for timber. The parish is drained southwards and then to the east by tributaries of the prosaically named Kent Ditch which makes its way to the English Channel via the River Rother and the port of Rye. Hawkhurst is sited at around 70 metres above the sea and sits on something of a ridge, the landscape is quite undulating and local heights rise to around 100 metres above the sea within a mile or two. Hawkhurst parish was extensive, as are most Wealden parishes, it covered almost 6,500 acres and would have supported a population of around 2,600 parishioners. In Domesday time Hawkhurst was held by the canons of Dover St Martin, strangely its assets were not detailed in the Book.

The Church

St Lawrence's church sits within the southern settlement of Hawkhurst on the southern side of a major bend to the west of the A229. The church has its origins in the mid to late 14th century. Much of the interior of the church shows a Decorated style of architecture but this has been largely overlaid externally by Perpendicular rebuilding around a century or so later. A large church the nave, chancel & western tower is augmented by both northern & southern aisles which run full length. As is usual with churches many changes were made by Victorian restorers, a sacristy was added in 1849, and in the 1850s windows were renewed and the southern aisle was completely rebuilt. Approaching down the A229 from the north the church presents its northern side in a fine view, a low, local stone wall has various gates granting entry to a churchyard which is quite extensive and has few obstructions for photography.