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{{short description|Village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{infobox UK place
|country = England
|official_name= Goudhurst
| static_image_name=Goudhurst, Kent - geograph.org.uk - 41629.jpg
| static_image_caption=High Street, Goudhurst
| population = 3,204
| population_ref =<ref>{{cite web | url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=795654&c=Goudhurst&d=16&e=15&g=460924&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1244628958541&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 | title=2001 Census: Key Statistics: Parish Headcounts: Area: Goudhurst CP (Parish) | work=Neighbourhood Statistics | publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] | access-date=10 June 2009 }}</ref><br> 3,327 (2011 Census)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11123815&c=Goudhurst&d=16&e=62&g=6439786&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1474739220127&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|access-date=24 September 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref> (Parish includes villages of [[Horden, Kent|Horden]] and [[Kilndown]])
|civil_parish= Goudhurst
|shire_district= [[Tunbridge Wells (borough)|Tunbridge Wells]]
|shire_county = [[Kent]]
|region= South East England
|constituency_westminster= [[Tunbridge Wells (UK Parliament constituency)|Tunbridge Wells]]
|post_town= [[Cranbrook, Kent|CRANBROOK]]
|postcode_district = TN17
|postcode_area= TN
|dial_code= 01580
|os_grid_reference= TQ725375
|coordinates = {{coord|51.1112|0.4636|display=inline,title}}
}}
'''Goudhurst''' is a village and [[civil parish]] in the [[borough of Tunbridge Wells]] in [[Kent]], England. It lies in the [[Weald]], around {{convert|12|miles|km|0}} south of [[Maidstone]], on the crossroads of the [[A262 road|A262]] and B2079.

The parish consists of three wards: Goudhurst, [[Kilndown]] and [[Curtisden Green]]. Hamlets include [[Bedgebury Cross]], Iden Green, Stonecrouch and Winchet Hill.

==Etymology==
The word Goudhurst is derived from Goud Hurst, the "Good Hurst" (an opening in a forest)<ref>{{Cite web|title=goud {{!}} Search Online Etymology Dictionary|url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=goud|access-date=2020-08-05|website=etymonline.com}}</ref> due to the hill's strategic position within the local landscape. A less plausible (but attractive) derivation is the [[Old English]] ''guo hyrst'', meaning [[Battle]] Hill, or the wooded hill on which a [[battle]] has been fought. The name apparently commemorates a battle fought on this high ground in [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon times]]. The spelling has evolved over the centuries: Gmthhyrste ({{Circa|1100}}), Guthurst or Guhthersts ({{Circa|1200}}), Gudhersts (1232), Guthhurste (1278), Goutherst (1316), Goodherst (1610), then the current-day spelling.<ref>''The Place Names of Kent'', Judith Glover {{ISBN|0-905270-61-4}}; ''The Origin of English Place Names'', P.H.Reaney {{ISBN|0-7100-2010-4}}</ref>

==History==

The village was one of those involved in the [[Wealden iron industry]]; it was a centre for the growing of [[hops]] and for weaving. A group of weavers' cottages stands opposite the church.

The [[St. Mary's Church, Goudhurst#The Battle of Goudhurst|Battle of Goudhurst]] in 1747 led to the end of the [[Hawkhurst Gang]] of [[Smuggling|smugglers]] and the execution of local gang leader [[Thomas Kingsmill (Hawkhurst Gang)|Thomas Kingsmill]] whose body was hung in chains in the village.<ref>Mary Waugh, ''Smuggling in Kent and Sussex 1700–1840'' 1985 {{ISBN|0-905392-48-5}} pp 74–5</ref>

The village's recent history is documented in the ''Goudhurst Jubilee Book'' (1935), ''Goudhurst Coronation Book'' (1937) and ''Goudhurst and [[Kilndown]] Millennium Book'' (2001, {{ISBN|0-9527822-1-9}}) which contain reminiscences, directories, historical notes, matters of local intelligence and records of celebrations starting from the 1800s or before. The books were printed as limited editions with the authors recording the written and the oral history of the village.

In 2023 Peter A Harding published "After the War was Over" (2023) {{ISBN|978-1-3999-5260-6}} which captures his memories of an idyllic childhood at Goudhurst during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

===St Mary's Church===
{{main|St Mary's Church, Goudhurst}}
The church stands on a hill and its tower commands views of the surrounding countryside.
For this reason it was a major surveying point in the [[Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790)]] to measure the precise distance and relationship between the [[Paris Observatory]] and the [[Royal Greenwich Observatory]], supervised by General [[William Roy]]. Sightings were made to [[Frant]] to the west, [[Tenterden]] to the east, [[Wrotham|Wrotham Hill]] to the north and [[Fairlight, East Sussex|Fairlight Down]] to the south.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

St Mary's church was founded in 1170 by Robert de Crevecour.<ref>The Nation's Favourite Churches, Andrew Barr</ref> The church has been altered and restored many times over the centuries. Until 1637 it had a tall spire which was destroyed by lightning in that year. In 1638 three London masons rebuilt the west tower.<ref>Howard Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600–1840,'' 3rd ed. 1995, s.v. "Edmund Kinsman", "John Young".</ref> During the [[Victorian era]] the church was [[Victorian restoration|restored]] by the architects [[William Slater (architect)|William Slater]] and [[Richard Carpenter (Architect)|Richard Carpenter]].<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1338671|desc= Church of St Mary, Goudhurst|access-date= 20 November 2012}}</ref> The church contains a remarkable painted wood and [[gesso]] effigy to Sir Alexander Culpeper (d.1599) and his wife Constance.<ref>The Nation's Favourite Churches, Andrew Barr</ref>

===Bedgebury===
[[Bedgebury Forest|Bedgebury]] is one of the oldest estates in [[Kent]]: having given its name to the de Bedgebury family, it passed into the hands of the Culpeper family in 1450. When the estate was sold in 1680, a new house was built which itself became a girls' school in the 1920s (closed in the summer of 2006). In 2007 the school was purchased by the Bell
Educational Trust, an educational charity. In the summer of 2007 the school reopened as the Bell Bedgebury International School, and the grounds also played host to the Bell Bedgebury Language Centre. In November 2010, the owners decided to close and sell the school.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-11688224 | publisher=BBC News | title=Bell Bedgebury private school to close in Cranbrook | date=3 November 2010}}</ref> – the riding school and 125 acres were sold separately and are now independent.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bedgebury Park {{!}} 125 acres of freedom|url=https://bedgeburypark.com/|access-date=2020-08-05|website=Bedgebury Park|language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Bedgebury Pinetum]] is nearby. It was acquired by the [[Forestry Commission]] in 1924.

=== 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 2.47 acres in extent and is surrounded by trees and hedges. It is owned by the Diocese of Canterbury and is maintained by Goudhurst Parish Council which has a long lease for this purpose. A volunteer group called The Friends of Goudhurst Village Green has been established with the aim to protect and preserve Goudhurst Village Green for the use of the residents of Goudhurst Parish by right, for lawful sports and pastimes, in perpetuity. St Mary's Church is permitted to use the village green for parking for occasional events such as large weddings and funerals.

===Public transport===
{{main|Hawkhurst Branch}}
In the past, the branch railway line from [[UK railway stations – P|Paddock Wood]] had a [[Goudhurst railway station|station]] for the village. It was opened on 1 October 1892 and was originally named 'Hope Mill for Goudhurst and [[Lamberhurst]]' before being renamed to 'Goudhurst' on 4 September 1893, the day the final part of the line came into service – the extension to [[Hawkhurst]] via [[Cranbrook, Kent|Cranbrook]]; physically, the station was about half a mile from the centre of Goudhurst, and somewhat further from Lamberhurst. The station was closed on 12 June 1961 because of lack of use, passenger numbers having dropped to fewer than 200 per day. The track was lifted in 1964, and in 1967 the station sites were offered for sale.

At present, the only public transport for Goudhurst are two bus routes operated by [[Arriva Southern Counties]] – the 26 to [[Maidstone]], and the 297 which runs to [[Tunbridge Wells]] in the west and [[Tenterden]] and [[Ashford, Kent|Ashford]] in the east.

==Education==
The village is in the [[Cranbrook School, Kent|Cranbrook School]] catchment area.

==Notable people==
*[[Ernest Alfred Benians]] (1880–1952), academic and historian, was born in Goudhurst.
*[[William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford]] (1768–1856), owned the [[Bedgebury National Pinetum|Bedgebury Estate]] and built [[Kilndown]] in the 1840s.
*[[Harry Christophers]] (b 1956), conductor, was born in Goudhurst.
*[[Leonard Benjamin Franklin]] (1862–1944), barrister and politician, was born in Goudhurst.
*Sir [[Jeffrey Gilbert (judge)|Jeffrey Gilbert]] ( 1674–1726 ), jurist and author, was born in Goudhurst.
*[[Stephen Groombridge]] (1755–1832), astronomer, was born in Goudhurst.
*[[Daniel Horsmanden]] (1691–1778), judge, was born in Goudhurst.
*[[George Johnson (physician)|Sir George Johnson]] (1818–1896), eminent physician who became recognized as an authority on cholera and kidney diseases, was born in Goudhurst.
*[[Stephen Law (Governor of Bombay)|Stephen Law]] (d c. 1788), [[Governor of Bombay]] from 1739 to 1742, lived in Goudhurst at the time of his death.
*[[Hopper Levett|William Howard Vincent Levett]] (1908–55), [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]] and [[England cricket team|England cricketer]], was born in Goudhurst.
*[[Richard Milbourne]] (d 1624), bishop, was vicar of Goudhurst 1611–15
*[[Alfred Mynn]] (1807–61), cricketer, was born in Goudhurst.
*[[William Rootes, 1st Baron Rootes|William Rootes]] (1894–1964), founder of [[Rootes Group]] was born in Goudhurst.
*Sir [[James Stirling (judge)|James Stirling]] (1836–1916), jurist and [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Councillor]], lived at [[Finchcocks]] in Goudhurst from 1890 until his death

==Media==

===Newspapers===

Newspapers available in Goudhurst are the free and Maidstone extra owned by [[KM Group]] and yourtunbridgewells and yourmaidstone both owned by [[KOS Media]]

===Radio===

The Local radio station is [[KMFM West Kent]] however [[KMFM Maidstone]] is also available. County-wide stations [[Heart South]], [[Gold (British radio network)|Gold]] and [[BBC Radio Kent]] are available.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* ''The Place Names of Kent'', Judith Glover.
* ''The Origin of English Place Names'', P. H. Reaney.
* ''The Dictionary of British Place Names''
* ''Dictionary of English Place Names'', A. D. Mills.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Goudhurst}}
* [http://www.goudhurst.co.uk/ Village website]
* [https://goudhurst-pc.gov.uk/ Parish Council website]
* [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/g/goudhurst/index.shtml Goudhurst entry in 'Disused Stations Site Record']
{{Geographic location
|Centre = Goudhurst
|North = [[Marden, Kent|Marden]]
|Northeast = [[Staplehurst]]<br>[[Curtisden Green]]
|East = [[Sissinghurst]]
|Southeast = [[Hartley, Cranbrook|Hartley]]
|South = [[Bedgebury Cross]]<br>[[Flimwell]]
|Southwest = [[Kilndown]]
|West = [[Lamberhurst Quarter]]
|Northwest = [[Horsmonden]]
}}
{{Goudhurst}}
{{Tunbridge Wells}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Civil parishes in Kent]]
[[Category:Villages in Kent]]

Goudhurst - Revision history

imported>Thirdman: /* Radio */ station updated