Horsmonden

Horsmonden (pronounced, horzman-DEN) is a village in Kent, on the Weald. It is situated on a road leading from Maidstone to Lamberhurst, three miles north of the latter place. The nearest railway station is Paddock Wood.

Etymology
The word 'Horsmonden' is derived from the Anglo Saxon hors bunda denne (the Horse farmer valley). The first record of the village was Horsbundenne, from around the turn of the twelfth century.

History
The village was an important centre of the medieval iron industry and the nearby Furnace Pond is one of the largest and finest of the artificial lakes made to provide water power for the works. King Charles I visited the foundry in 1638 to watch a canon being cast - a bronze four-pounder, forty-two inches long, now preserved in London's White Tower.

There have been gypsy horse fairs held on the village green each year. In 2000, the local parish council with assistance of the then-Home Secretary Jack Straw, ruled that due to ongoing safety concerns, the Horse Fair would not go ahead and a 5-mile exclusion zone was put in place. However due to protests and legal action from the wider gypsy community, this decision was overturned and the fairs resumed following a compromise between the travellers and the local authorities. Horses may be bought and sold but other stalls - which in the past included glassware and other items - are not permitted to attend.

The village church, St Margaret's, is located some miles away from the centre of the village towards neighbouring Goudhurst.

Public transport
When the branch railway line to Hawkhurst was operating, there was a railway station for the village. However Horsmonden railway station closed in 1961. The station site is now used as a garage called "Old Station Garage" and the stationmaster's house is now a private residence.

Today the only public transport for Horsmonden is the 297 bus route which was until recently operated by Arriva Southern Counties, but is now run in conjunction with a number of separate bus companies and Kent County Council.

Cricket club
Horsmonden cricket club dates back to 1743. It is home to 8 cricket teams, 4 men's sides and 5 youth sides.

Notable people

 * John Browne (d 1651), gunfounder, leased Brenchley Furnace, the site of which is now in Horsmonden.
 * Simon Willard, (d 1676), founded the town of Concord in Massachusetts Bay, was born in Horsmonden
 * William Moon (1818–94), teacher and philanthropist, was born in Horsmonden
 * Ruth Thomas (b 1967), novelist, was born in Horsmonden