View source for Cranbrook, Kent

{{Short description|Town in Kent, England}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{infobox UK place
| static_image_name = Union Mill in Cranbrook, Kent.jpg
| static_image_caption = Stone Street, looking southeast towards Union Windmill
| static_image_alt = White windmill and white wooden houses in Cranbrook
| country = England
| official_name = Cranbrook
| coordinates = {{coord|51|05|48|N|00|32|08|E|display=inline,title}}
| population = 6,717
| population_ref = (2011 census)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122409&c=Cranbrook&d=16&e=62&g=6439700&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1474723822842&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|access-date=24 September 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|archive-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020220007/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122409&c=Cranbrook&d=16&e=62&g=6439700&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1474723822842&enc=1|url-status=live}}</ref>
| shire_district = [[Tunbridge Wells (borough)|Tunbridge Wells]]
| civil_parish = Cranbrook and Sissinghurst
| shire_county = [[Kent]]
| region = South East England
| constituency_westminster = [[Weald of Kent (UK Parliament constituency)|Weald of Kent]]
| post_town = CRANBROOK
| postcode_area = TN
| postcode_district = TN17
| dial_code = 01580
| os_grid_reference = TQ775365
}}
[[File:SirJohnBaker.jpg|thumb|upright|[[John Baker (died 1558)|John Baker]]]]
[[File:The Particular Baptist Chapel, Cranbrook - geograph.org.uk - 1500977.jpg|thumb|[[Cranbrook Strict Baptist Chapel]] ]]
[[File:Providence Chapel, Cranbrook - geograph.org.uk - 1416308.jpg|thumb|The former Providence Baptist Chapel]]
'''Cranbrook''' is a town in the [[civil parish]] of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst, in the [[Weald]] of [[Kent]] in [[South East England]]. It lies roughly half-way between [[Maidstone]] and [[Hastings]], about {{convert|38|mi|km}} southeast of central London.

The smaller settlements of [[Sissinghurst]], [[Swattenden]], [[Colliers Green]] and [[Hartley, Cranbrook|Hartley]] lie within the civil parish. The population of the parish was 6,717 in 2011.

== History ==
<!-- http://www.cranbrook.org/about.php has some pointers on history-->
The place name Cranbrook derives from [[Old English]] ''cran bric'', meaning [[Crane (bird)|Crane]] [[Marsh]], marshy ground frequented by cranes (although more probably [[herons]]).  Spelling of the place name has evolved over the centuries from ''Cranebroca'' (c. 1100); by 1226 it was recorded as ''Cranebroc'', then Cranebrok. By 1610 the name had become Cranbrooke, which evolved into the current spelling.<ref>''The Place Names of Kent'', Judith Glover {{ISBN|0-905270-61-4}}</ref><ref>''The Origin of English Place Names'', P.H. Reaney {{ISBN|0-7100-2010-4}}</ref>

There is evidence of early activity here in the Roman period at the former Little Farningham Farm where a substantial iron working site was investigated in the 1950s. In 2000 the site was the subject of a Kent Archaeological Society fieldwork project to establish the extent of the site and the line of the Roman road from Rochester to Bodiam, which was published in 2001.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aldridge|first1=Neil|title=Little Farningham Farm, Cranbrook Re-visited|url=https://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Pub/ArchCant/121-2001/121-07.pdf|journal=Archaeologia Cantiana|volume=121|issue=2001}}</ref> The site had earlier produced a number of clay tiles bearing the mark of the Roman Fleet, or Classis Brittanica who may have been overseeing the work.

Edward III brought over Flemish weavers to develop the [[Wealden cloth industry]] using wool from Romney Marsh; Cranbrook became the centre of this as it had local supplies of [[fuller's earth]] and plenty of streams that could be dammed to drive the fulling mills. [[Wealden iron industry|Iron-making]] was carried on at Bedgebury on the [[River Teise]], an industry which dates back to Roman times. The tributaries of the [[River Beult]] around Cranbrook powered 17 watermills at one time. In 1290 the town received a charter from [[John Peckham|Archbishop Peckham]], allowing it to hold a market in the [[High Street, Cranbrook|High Street]].

Baker's Cross on the eastern edge of the town is linked to [[John Baker (died 1558)|John Baker]], [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], under [[Mary I of England|Queen Mary]], a Catholic.<ref name=Dasent1911>{{harvnb|Dasent|1911|pp=130}}</ref><ref name=NQ1859>{{harvnb|NQ|1859|pp=142}}</ref><ref name=Westwood1985>{{harvnb|Westwood|1985|pp=85}}</ref> Legend holds that he was riding on his way to Cranbrook in order to have two local Protestants executed, when he turned back after the news reached him that Queen Mary was dead. Different versions of the legend have it that he heard the parish church bells ringing, or that he was met by a messenger. The place where this happened was, in the words of biographer and historian [[Arthur Irwin Dasent]], "at a place where three roads meet, known to this day as Baker's Cross".<ref name=Dasent1911/><ref name=NQ1859/><ref name=Westwood1985/>

Popular legend also has it that Baker was killed at Baker's Cross; although in fact he died in his house in London.<ref name=King1868>{{harvnb|King|1868|pp=240}}</ref><ref name=Cook1882>{{harvnb|Cook|1882|pp=475}}</ref>

The town developed around the "King's High Road" (now named as High Street, Stone Street and Waterloo Road) until the Second World War. Following the war, additional housing was built adjacent to the historic centre – the Wheatfield Estate to the north and the Frythe Estate to the south. In the 1970s, a Conservation Area was designated in the town centre.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/24796/CAA_Cranbrook.pdf |title=Cranbrook Conservation Area Appraisal |author=Tunbridge Wells Borough Council|date=2010|website=Tunbridge Wells Borough Council}}</ref> Most of the buildings on High Street, Stone Street and The Hill are listed.

== Governance ==
In 1974 [[Cranbrook Rural District]] was merged into the [[Borough of Tunbridge Wells]]. In 2010 Francis Rook of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] won one of the three council seats in the Benenden and Cranbrook ward from the Conservatives to become one of only 6 non-[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] councillors out of 48 in the borough.

The name of the parish council was changed from Cranbrook Parish Council to Cranbrook and Sissinghurst Parish Council in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/meetings/data/General%20Purposes%20Committee/20090514/Agenda/GP001.pdf|title=Request to Change Name of Parish Council – Cranbrook|publisher=Tunbridge Wells Borough Council|access-date=22 October 2017|archive-date=23 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023063611/http://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/meetings/data/General%20Purposes%20Committee/20090514/Agenda/GP001.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The parish council is based in the Old Fire Station on Stone Street.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cranbrookandsissinghurstpc.co.uk/cranbrook-and-sissinghurst-pc/contact-us/ | title=Contact us | publisher=Cranbrook and Sissinghurst Parish Council | access-date=12 October 2016 | archive-date=12 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012155444/http://cranbrookandsissinghurstpc.co.uk/cranbrook-and-sissinghurst-pc/contact-us/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

== Geography ==
Located on the [[Maidstone]] to [[Hastings]] [[A229 road|road]], it is five miles north of [[Hawkhurst]]. [[Baker's Cross]] is on the eastern outskirts of the town.

Cranbrook is on the [[Hastings Beds]], alternating sands and clays which are more resistant to erosion than the surrounding clays and so form the hills of the High Weald.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xww5k2aH6awC&pg=PA90 | page=90 | title=Industry in the Countryside: Wealden Society in the Sixteenth Century Issue 22 of Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time | first=Michael | last=Zell | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2004 | isbn=9780521893060 | access-date=23 January 2021 | archive-date=23 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123133431/https://books.google.com/books?id=xww5k2aH6awC&pg=PA90 | url-status=live }}</ref> The geology of the area has played a major role in the town's development, deposits of iron ore and [[fuller's earth]] were important in the iron industry and cloth industry respectively.

== Demography ==
At the 2011 census, Cranbrook had 6,717 [[Residency (domicile)|residents]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122409&c=Cranbrook&d=16&e=62&g=6439700&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1474723822842&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|access-date=24 September 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|archive-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020220007/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122409&c=Cranbrook&d=16&e=62&g=6439700&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1474723822842&enc=1|url-status=live}}</ref> The Kent Structure Plan calls it the smallest town in Kent,<ref>Kent Structure Plan</ref> although [[Fordwich]] has a town council and just 381 residents.<ref name=ons>[http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030211201309/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/ |date=11 February 2003 }} [[United Kingdom Census 2011]] ''[[Office for National Statistics]]'' Retrieved 21 November 2013</ref>

== Economy ==
Since the decline of the cloth trade, agriculture became the mainstay of the economy.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cranbrookandsissinghurstpc.co.uk/about/history-cranbrook/ | title=The History of Cranbrook | publisher=Cranbrook and Sissinghurst Parish Council | access-date=12 October 2016 | archive-date=12 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012153939/http://cranbrookandsissinghurstpc.co.uk/about/history-cranbrook/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

The first bank was opened in Cranbrook in 1803 by Samuel Waddington. It closed in 1805. In 1804, the Cranbrook Bank was opened. It changed its name to the Weald of Kent Bank in 1812 and then to Bishop & Co's Bank in 1813 before being declared bankrupt in October 1814.<ref name=KM270712>{{cite news |title=Village's first bank was first in long line of failures |first=Nick |last=Lillitos |newspaper=Kent Messenger (Weald edition) |page=12 |issue=27 July 2012}}</ref>

The Tooth family of [[Swifts Park|Great Swifts]], near Cranbrook, established a brewery at Baker's Cross.  A large part of their trade was the export of beer to Australia.  Subsequently, John Tooth emigrated to Australia in the early 1830s, traded for a time as a general merchant, and then in 1835, with his brother-in-law, John Newnham, opened a brewery in Sydney. He named the brewery Kent Brewery, which continued to 1985.  Meanwhile, the brewery at Cranbrook had been sold to one William Barling Sharpe, whose daughter had married the local estate agent, William Winch. The brewery '''Sharpe & Winch''' was established in Baker's Cross at some point prior to 1846 by William Barling Sharpe (who is buried with his wife, Ann, in the cemetery at [[Westwell, Kent|Westwell]], and his daughter, Elizabeth Louisa, who married William Francis Winch).  The brewery assumed the name Sharpe & Winch in 1892, and was purchased and taken over by Frederick Leney & Sons Ltd, a [[Wateringbury]] company, in 1927.<ref name=Barber1994>{{harvnb|Barber|1994|pp=44}}</ref><ref name=RichmondTurton1990>{{harvnb|Richmond|Turton|1990|pp=209}}</ref><ref name=Barling>{{cite web|first=Pat|last=Barling|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com./~barling/egerton/i0000497.htm|title=Barling Family — Egerton branch|work=ancestry.com|access-date=17 October 2010|archive-date=2 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102191050/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~barling/egerton/i0000497.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Duncan1920>{{harvnb|Duncan|1920|loc=Plot #41}}</ref> The brewery were responsible for the mock-Tudor extension to the 18th century ''Baker's Cross House'' (a Grade II [[listed building]]).<ref name=Flanders1984>{{harvnb|Flanders|1984|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXU9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA184|accessdate=17 October 2010|pp=184–185}}</ref><ref name=BLB1>{{cite web|title=Baker's Cross House|work=British Listed Buildings|url=http://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk./en-168866-baker-s-cross-house-cranbrook|access-date=17 October 2010|archive-date=12 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812213540/http://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-168866-baker-s-cross-house-cranbrook|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Culture and community ==
During the 19th century, a group of artists known as the "[[Cranbrook Colony]]" were located here. The Colony artists tended to paint scenes of domestic life in rural Kent – cooking and washing, children playing, and other family activities.

Queen's Hall Theatre, part of Cranbrook School, sponsors many theatre groups, including the [[Cambridge Footlights]] and Cranbrook Operatic and Dramatic Society (CODS). Cranbrook Town Band, founded in the 1920s, is a British-style [[brass band]], which performs regular concerts in the Queen's Hall, St&nbsp;Dunstan's Church and around Kent.

There have been many plans to create a community hub, starting with a proposal to convert the old council offices. The focus then switched to a £2m building planned on Wilkes Field, next to the Co-op carpark. {{As of|2013}} plans included small community rooms and three large day rooms which could convert into a hall for 300 people, along with a day care centre, council offices, public toilets and even the police station.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.kentlive.news/police-station-cafe-plan-new-centre-cranbrook/story-18221318-detail/story.html | title=Police station and cafe plan for new centre in Cranbrook | newspaper=Weald Courier | date=27 February 2013 | first=Scarlet | last=Jones }}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In April 2016 residents voted against the parish council taking out the £2m loan required for the project, but in September 2016 the Borough Council approved a £20m regeneration plan that would create shops, flats and a community centre.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/weald/news/parish-council-must-raise-4m-101798/ | title=Plans for Cranbrook Community Centre, Wilkes Field, and Cranbrook Engineering site, Stone Street, approved | date=2 September 2016 | first=Ed | last=McConnell | newspaper=Kent Online | access-date=12 October 2016 | archive-date=12 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012153839/http://www.kentonline.co.uk/weald/news/parish-council-must-raise-4m-101798/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

== Cultural references ==
[[Cranbrook (hymn tune)|Cranbrook]] is the name of a [[hymn tune]] written by [[Canterbury]] cobbler [[Thomas Clark (of Canterbury)|Thomas Clark]] around 1805, and later used as a tune for the Christmas hymn "[[While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks]]". The tune later became associated with the Yorkshire song "[[On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at]]".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-2/on_ilkley_moor_bar_tat.htm  | title=While Shepherds Watched | access-date=7 August 2008}}</ref>

{{cquote|"Cranbrook is a village giving the impression of trying to remember what once made it important."|||[[H.E. Bates]], who knew Cranbrook well| -''The Darling Buds of May''}}

== Landmarks ==
There are many medieval buildings in the area. At Wilsley Green, to the north of the town, is a Grade I-listed Wealden [[hall house]] and cloth hall that dates to the late 14th century.<ref>{{NHLE | num=1338663 | desc=Old Wilsley | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016}}</ref> There are a number of medieval cloth halls around the town – the George Hotel is in one dating to 1400,<ref>{{NHLE | num=1075155 | desc=Anderson And Sons Butchers Andreson And Sons Butchers Lemon Blue Gift Shop Oliver Fisher Estate Agents The Cornerhouse Flat The Cornerhouse Flats The Cornerhouse Offices The George Hotel | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> there are two more further down the High St on the north side dating from the late 15th century<ref>{{NHLE | num=1084827 | desc=Bangham's Electrical Shop Jeneleen Hairdressers Vegetare | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> and 16th century.<ref>{{NHLE | num=1336920 | desc=Shepherds | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> There are 15th century examples at Goddards Green Farm on Angley Rd,<ref>{{NHLE | num=1084183 | desc=Goddards Green Farmhouse | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> Hill House on The Hill,<ref>{{NHLE | num=1084833 | desc=Hill House  | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> and on Friezley Lane.<ref>{{NHLE | num=1347912 | desc=Friezley And Weavers | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

Glassenbury Park is a late-15th-century manor house on the road to [[Goudhurst]] with a 1730s front block, remodelled in 1877–79 by Anthony Salvia.<ref>{{NHLE | num=1101470 | desc=Glassenbury Park House | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> Wilsley Hotel was originally built in 1864–70 as a home for the Colony artist [[John Callcott Horsley]], designer of the first Christmas card twenty years earlier. The architect was [[Richard Norman Shaw]] in his first important domestic commission.<ref>{{NHLE | num=1346269| desc=Wilsley Hotel | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> The war memorial was erected on Angley Road in 1920.<ref>{{NHLE | num=1346268 | desc=Cranbrook War Memorial | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

=== Windmills ===
[[File:Cranbrook windmill 1.jpg|thumb|Union Mill]]
Over the years there have been four [[List of windmills in Kent|windmills]] in and around Cranbrook of which only the [[Union Mill, Cranbrook|Union Mill]] survives and dominates the local skyline. It was built in 1814 for Henry Dobell, who went bankrupt five years later. Then the mill was run by a union of creditors until 1832. The Russell family ran it for the next 128 years, when it was sold to [[Kent County Council]], who have restored it. The mill is kept in working order to this day. It stands ¼ mile&nbsp;(400 m) southeast of the church.<ref name=Finch>{{cite book | first = William| last = Coles Finch| author-link=William Coles Finch| year = 1933| title = Watermills and Windmills| pages = 188–91| publisher = C W Daniel Company| location = London}}</ref>

Cranbrook Common [[smock mill]] had [[windmill sail|common sails]] and was winded<ref name=Wind>Turned to face the wind</ref> by hand. It was marked on the [[Ordnance Survey]] map covering the area which was published between 1858 and 1872. The mill was last worked in 1876 and was demolished on 9 August 1902. The mill stood 1¾ miles&nbsp;(2.8&nbsp;km) north north east of the church.<ref name=Finch/>

Windmill Hill is thought to have been home to a [[smock mill]] that was moved to [[Sissinghurst]] c. 1814. It stood ¼ mile&nbsp;(400 m) west north west of the church.<ref name=Finch/> This mill was marked on [[Emanuel Bowen]]'s map of Kent (1736) and also on Andrews, Drury and Herbert's map of Kent, 1769. The latter also shows a mill at Saint's Hill, 1 mile 5 [[furlong]]s&nbsp;(2.6&nbsp;km) north east of the church.<ref name=Finch/>

== Transport ==
The junction of the A262 (Lamberhurst – Biddenden) and the [[A229]] ([[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]] – [[Hawkhurst]]) pass near Cranbrook. Cranbrook is served by [[Arriva Southern Counties]] buses.

The [[Hawkhurst Branch Line]] ran a short distance from the town, but [[Cranbrook (Kent) railway station|Cranbrook railway station]], which was {{convert|2|mi}} southwest of the centre, stopped operations on 12 June 1961.<ref>{{Butt-Stations |page=70}}</ref> The nearest operating station is at [[Staplehurst railway station|Staplehurst]].

== Education ==
Rainbow Pre-school provides early years education in the centre of town. Cranbrook Church of England Primary School has been on its current site in Carriers Road since 1985; it was placed in special measures from November 2013 until June 2015.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/files/2494449/urn/118600.pdf | title=Cranbrook Church of England Primary School | date=10 July 2015 | publisher=Ofsted | access-date=12 October 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Colliers Green]] Primary School also lies within the parish, to the north-west of Cranbrook. [[Dulwich Preparatory School]] (3–13) at [[Coursehorn]] to the east of town, is a legacy of the World War II evacuation of [[Dulwich College Preparatory School]] from London. Alumni include [[Sophie, Countess of Wessex]] and its buildings include two cloth halls, one dating from the 15th century<ref>{{NHLE | num=1084868 | desc=The Old Cloth Hall | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> and one from the 16th century.<ref>{{NHLE | num=1336925 | desc=Coursehorn | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

[[Cranbrook School, Kent|Cranbrook School]] (13–18) is a [[Voluntary aided school|voluntary-aided]] grammar school, dating back to 1518. A third of the pupils are [[Boarding school|boarders]]. The schoolhouse built in 1727 is now the Headmaster's House.<ref>{{NHLE | num=1084796 | desc=Cranbrook School House And Walls To South | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>  The school's [[observatory]] is named after alumnus and NASA astronaut [[Piers Sellers]]; it houses the 22.5 inch Alan Young telescope operated by the Cranbrook and District Science and Astronomy Society (CADSAS).

[[High Weald Academy]] (11–18), formerly known as Angley School, was a comprehensive school. It was formed by the merger of Mary Sheafe Girls' School and Swattenden Boys' School in the 1970s and became Kent's first specialist sports college in 2000.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.kentlive.news/sporting-success/story-11984040-detail/story.html | title=Sporting success | newspaper=This is Kent | date=21 December 2008 | access-date=12 October 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In September 2012 it was taken over by the Hayesbrook Academy Trust (now the Brook Learning Trust) who run the [[Hayesbrook School]] in Tonbridge. The school closed in 2022.
[[File:Cranbrook Church - geograph.org.uk - 529906.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|St Dunstan's parish church, the "Cathedral of the Weald"]]

== Religious sites ==

[[St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook|St Dunstan's Church]] is known as the "Cathedral of the Weald";<ref name="Cranbrook A Wealden Town 1955">''Cranbrook A Wealden Town'', C.C.R. Pile (1955)</ref> its 74&nbsp;feet-high tower, completed in 1425, has a wooden figure of [[Father Time]] and his [[scythe]] on the south face. It also contains the prototype for the [[Big Ben]] clock in London.<ref name="Cranbrook A Wealden Town 1955"/>

[[Cranbrook Strict Baptist Chapel]] was built in 1787 and is the only survivor of two Strict Baptist chapels within a short distance in the village centre; Providence Chapel is now closed. Cranbrook Congregational Church was built in Neo-Gothic style in 1857,<ref>{{NHLE | num=1084384 | desc=Congregational Church | date=12 October 2016 | access-date=12 October 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>  replacing an earlier chapel. It remains [[Congregational Federation|Congregational]], having stayed outside the [[United Reformed Church]] denomination. The Catholic St Theodore's Church opened in 1958.

== Sport ==
In 1652, a court case brought at Cranbrook by church authorities against John Rabson and others refers to "a certain unlawful game called [[cricket]]", one of the sport's earliest references. The court, however, ruled that the game was ''not'' unlawful.<ref>Underdown, p. 15.</ref> [[Kent County Cricket Club]] played two [[first-class cricket]] matches on [[School Field, Cranbrook]] in the 1850s and two on [[Swifts Park]], an estate just north-east of the town, in the 1860s.<ref name=17annual210>Grounds Records in ''Kent County Cricket Club Annual 2017'', pp.210–211. Canterbury: [[Kent County Cricket Club]].</ref>

Cranbrook Juniors Football Club (CJFC) play in the Crowborough & District Junior Football League. Home matches are played on the Rammell Field, Cranbrook on Saturday mornings.

Cranbrook Rugby Club (CRFC) play their home matches on the various rugby pitches situated around the town, including the Jaeger and Scott fields. The clubhouse is based at the Cranbrook Rugby Club, on Angley Road. Age groups range from Under 7s to the senior adult teams.

The Weald Sports Centre has indoor and outdoor facilities, including tennis courts, an indoor sports hall, a swimming pool and a dance studio.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fusion-lifestyle.com/centres/The_Weald_Sports_Centre/Facilities | title=Facilities | publisher=Fusion Lifestyle | date=2016 | access-date=12 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012152730/http://www.fusion-lifestyle.com/centres/The_Weald_Sports_Centre/Facilities | archive-date=12 October 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Cranbrook joggers club runs routes around Angley Woods and Bedgebury Forest.

There was an open-air swimming pool on the Frythe Estate, which closed when the Weald Sports Centre opened in 2000.

== Notable people ==
{{see also|List of people from Cranbrook, Kent|Category:People educated at Cranbrook School, Kent}}
<!-- try to keep it to people with a significant connection to the town, the school alumni lists belong elsewhere -->
* [[William Addison (VC)|Rev William Robert Fountains Addison]] (1883–1962),<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLRGBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT138 | page=138 | title=VCs of the First World War: The Sideshows | first=Gerald | last=Gliddon | publisher=The History Press | year=2014 | isbn=9780750957656 | access-date=23 January 2021 | archive-date=23 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123133459/https://books.google.com/books?id=OLRGBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT138 | url-status=live }}</ref> recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]] in the [[First World War]]
* [[Robert Traill (Scottish minister)|Robert Triall]], Presbyterian minister and prisoner on the [[Bass Rock]]
* [[Boyd Alexander]], (1873–1910), British Army officer, explorer and ornithologist
* [[Giles Cooper (producer)|Giles Cooper]], (1968–), entertainment producer & promoter. Best known as chairman of the annual [[Royal Variety Performance]]
* [[Rosamund Brunel Gotch]], (1864–1949), English costume designer, illustrator and writer
* [[Frederick Daniel Hardy]], (1827–1911), genre painter and member of the Cranbrook Colony
* [[Harry Hill]], (1964–), comedian, born Matthew Hall, educated in Cranbrook
* [[William Huntington (preacher)|William Huntington S.S.]], (1745–1813), preacher and eccentric
* [[Chris Langham]], (1949–), actor and writer
* [[Kevin Lygo]], (1957–), Head of [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
* [[Piers Sellers]], (1955–2016), first British-born astronaut
* [[Tim Smit]], (1954–), founder of the [[Eden Project]]
* [[Robert Tooth]], (1821–1893), prominent Sydney businessman and brewer
* [[Arthur Tooth]], (1839–1931), Church of England priest imprisoned under the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874
* [[Thomas Webster (painter)|Thomas Webster]], (1800–1886), genre painter
* [[Peter West]], (1920–2003), TV presenter and sports commentator, born, brought up and educated in Cranbrook
* [[Comfort Starr]], (1589–1659), 17th-century English physician, was one of the five founders of Harvard College
* Hamilton; 'Bessie' Elizabeth Sterling Hamilton, Matron of Cranbrook Cottage Hospital, 1897–1912.<ref name=":0">Rogers, Sarah (2022). 'A Maker of Matrons’? A study of Eva Lückes’s influence on a generation of nurse leaders:1880–1919' (Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Huddersfield, April 2022)

External links</ref><ref>Matron’s Annual Letter to Nurses, No.5, Matron's Annual Letter to Nurses, 1894–1916; RLHLH/N/7/2, No.5, February 1898, 13; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London</ref><ref>Elizabeth Hamilton, RG13/774, 80; The General Record Office, The England and Wales Census 1901 for Cranbrook, Kent; The National Archives, Kew [Available at: www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed on 18 September 2018].</ref><ref>Matron’s Annual Letter to Nurses, No.19, Matron's Annual Letter to Nurses, 1894–1916; RLHLH/N/7/2, No.19, April 1912, 33; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London.</ref> Hamilton trained at [[Royal London Hospital|The London Hospital]] under [[Eva Luckes]] between 1896 and 1897.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Elizabeth Stirling-Hamilton, Register of Pupil Probationers; RLHLH/N/2/1, 84; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London</ref><ref>Elizabeth Stirling-Hamilton, Register of Probationers; RLHLH/N/1/5, 247; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London</ref>

==Climate==
The [[Köppen Climate Classification]] subtype for this climate is "[[Oceanic climate|Cfb]]" (Marine West Coast Climate).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=78730&cityname=Cranbrook%2C+England%2C+United+Kingdom&units= |title=Climate Summary for Cranbrook, Kent |access-date=5 July 2013 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123133420/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=78730&cityname=Cranbrook%2C+England%2C+United+Kingdom&units= |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Weather box
|location = Cranbrook
|single line = Yes
|metric first = Yes
|Jan high F = 44
|Feb high F = 45
|Mar high F = 50
|Apr high F = 56
|May high F = 62
|Jun high F = 69
|Jul high F = 71
|Aug high F = 71
|Sep high F = 66
|Oct high F = 58
|Nov high F =50
|Dec high F = 45
|year high F = 57
|Jan low F = 33
|Feb low F = 33
|Mar low F = 35
|Apr low F = 39
|May low F = 43
|Jun low F = 49
|Jul low F = 53
|Aug low F = 52
|Sep low F = 49
|Oct low F = 42
|Nov low F = 38
|Dec low F = 35
|year low F = 42
|Jan precipitation inch = 2.5
|Feb precipitation inch =1.9
|Mar precipitation inch = 1.6
|Apr precipitation inch = 2.1
|May precipitation inch = 1.9
|Jun precipitation inch = 1.6
|Jul precipitation inch = 2.4
|Aug precipitation inch = 2.3
|Sep precipitation inch = 2.1
|Oct precipitation inch = 2.8
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.1
|Dec precipitation inch = 2.6
|year precipitation inch = 26.9
|source 1 = Weatherbase<ref name=Weatherbase>{{cite web
|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=78730&cityname=Cranbrook-England
|title=Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Cranbrook, Kent
|publisher=Weatherbase
|year=2013
|access-date=19 April 2013
|archive-date=23 October 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023140821/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=78730&cityname=Cranbrook-England
|url-status=live
}}
Retrieved on 19 April 2013.</ref>
|date=April 2013
}}
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== Industry and commerce ==
== Politics ==
== Media ==
== Invention and discovery ==
== Future plans ==
== Filmography ==
== Public services ==
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== See also ==
* [[Cranbrook, British Columbia]], named by Colonel James Baker for his hometown in Kent.

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Reference bibliography===
*{{Cite book|last=Barber|first=Norman|title=A century of British brewers, 1890–1990|publisher=Brewery History Society|year=1994|isbn=978-1-873966-04-4}}
*{{Cite book|last=Cook|first=Joel|title=England, picturesque and descriptive: A reminiscence of foreign travel|url=https://archive.org/details/england00cookuoft|location=Philadelphia|publisher=Porter and Coates|year=1882}}
*{{cite book|last=Dasent |first=Arthur Irwin |author-link=Arthur Irwin Dasent|date=1911|title=The speakers of the House of Commons from the earliest times to the present day with a topographical description of Westminster at various epochs|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924030496354|publisher=John Lane: The Bodley Head |location=London & New York}}
*{{Cite book|last=Duncan|others=Christine Pantrey, transcriber, Zena Bamping, checker|url=http://kentarchaeology.org.uk./Research/Libr/MIs/MIsWestwell/MIsWestwell.htm |title=The Monumental Inscriptions in The Church and Churchyard of Westwell, Kent|date=September 1920|first=Leland L.|edition=republished 2001, 2007|publisher=Kent Archaeological Society}}
*{{Cite book|last=Flanders|first=Dennis|chapter=Baker's Cross House, Cranbrook, Kent|title=Dennis Flanders' Britannia|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1984|isbn=978-0-85362-206-2}}
*{{Cite book|last=Hardy|first=Kimber G.|title=The Hardy Family of Artists: Frederick Daniel, George, Heywood, James and their descendants|publisher=ACC Art Books|year=2016|isbn=978-185149-826-0|location=Woodbridge, Suffolk}}
*{{Cite book|last=King|first=Richard John|authorlink=Richard John King|title=A handbook for travellers in Kent and Sussex |edition=3rd|year=1868|location=London|publisher=John Murray|chapter=The Weald}}
*{{Cite book|ref=CITEREFNQ1859|title=Choice Notes from "Notes and Queries": Folk lore|url=https://archive.org/details/choicenotesfrom00unkngoog|location=London|publisher=Bell and Daldy|year=1859|chapter=Legend of Sir Richard Baker}}
*{{Cite book|last1=Richmond|first1=Lesley|last2=Turton|first2=Alison|title=The Brewing industry: a guide to historical records|volume=1|series=Studies in British business archives|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=1990|isbn=978-0-7190-3032-1}}
*{{Cite book|last=Underdown |first=David |author-link=David Underdown |title=Start of Play |year=2000 |publisher=Allen Lane}}
*{{Cite book|last=Westwood|first=Jennifer|title=Albion: a guide to legendary Britain|publisher=Granada|year=1985|isbn=978-0-246-11789-2}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|title=A Companion to Baker's-Cross Grove, Cranbrook|publisher=S. Waters|year=1815}}
* {{cite journal|title=From Dyehouse to Brewhouse|journal=The Cranbrook Journal|issue=4|year=1991|first=Tony|last=Singleton|url=http://tonysing.me.uk./History/BakersX/article1.htm}}
* {{cite journal|title=Baker's Cross Brewery, Cranbrook|journal=The Cranbrook Journal|issue=7|year=1994|first=Tony|last=Singleton|url=http://tonysing.me.uk./History/BakersX/article2.htm}}
* {{cite web|title=Baker's Cross |url=http://theweald.org./P3.asp?PId=Ck.BakersX |work=The Weald |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311073904/http://theweald.org/P3.asp?PId=Ck.BakersX |archive-date=11 March 2012 |df=dmy }}
* {{cite web|title=Little Baker's Cross|work=British Listed Buildings|url=http://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk./en-168867-little-baker-s-cross-cranbrook}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Aldridge|first1=Neil|title=Little Farningham Farm, Cranbrook Re-visited|url=https://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Pub/ArchCant/121-2001/121-07.pdf|journal=Archaeologia Cantiana|volume=121|issue=2001}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Cranbrook, Kent}}
{{wikivoyage|Cranbrook (Kent)|Cranbrook, Kent}}
*[http://cranbrookandsissinghurstpc.co.uk/ Cranbrook & Sissinghurst Parish Council website]

{{Geographic location
|Centre    = Cranbrook
|North     = [[Colliers Green]]
|Northeast = [[Sissinghurst]]
|East      = [[Biddenden]]
|Southeast = [[Benenden]]
|South     = [[Swattenden]]
|Southwest = [[Hartley, Cranbrook|Hartley]]
|West      = [[Lamberhurst]]
|Northwest = [[Goudhurst]]
}}
{{Cranbrook}}
{{Tunbridge Wells}}
{{Kent}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cranbrook, Kent| ]]
[[Category:Cricket in Kent]]
[[Category:English cricket in the 14th to 17th centuries]]
[[Category:Market towns in Kent]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Kent]]