The word Goudhurst is derived from Goud Hurst, the "Good Hurst" due to the hill's strategic position within the local landscape. A less plausible derivation is the Old Englishguo 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 Saxon times. The spelling has evolved over the centuries: Gmthhyrste, Guthurst or Guhthersts, Gudhersts, Guthhurste, Goutherst, Goodherst, then the current-day spelling.
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 Battle of Goudhurst in 1747 led to the end of the Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers and the execution of local gang leader Thomas Kingsmill whose body was hung in chains in the village. The village's recent history is documented in the Goudhurst Jubilee Book, Goudhurst Coronation Book and Goudhurst and Kilndown Millennium Book 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.
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 to measure the precise distance and relationship between the Paris Observatory and the Royal Greenwich Observatory, supervised by General William Roy. St Mary's church was founded in 1170 by Robert de Crevecour. 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. During the Victorian era the church was restored by the architects William Slater and Richard Carpenter. The church contains a remarkable painted wood and gesso effigy to Sir Alexander Culpeper and his wife Constance.
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. 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. – the riding school and 125 acres were sold separately and are now independent. 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 self-appointed group called The Friends of Goudhurst Village Green has been set up 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 passtimes and church based parking in perpetuity.
Public transport
In the past, the branch railway line from Paddock Wood had a 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; 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 byArriva Southern Counties – the 26 to Maidstone, and the 297 which runs to Tunbridge Wells in the west and Tenterden and Ashford in the east.
Notable people
Ernest Alfred Benians, academic and historian, was born in Goudhurst.
William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, owned the Bedgebury Estate and built Kilndown in the 1840s.
Harry Christophers, conductor, was born in Goudhurst.
Gerald Charles Dickens, actor and performer, lived in the village
Leonard Benjamin Franklin, barrister and politician, was born in Goudhurst.
Sir Jeffrey Gilbert, jurist and author, was born in Goudhurst.
Stephen Groombridge, astronomer, was born in Goudhurst.
Daniel Horsmanden, judge, was born in Goudhurst.
Sir George Johnson, eminent physician who became recognized as an authority on cholera and kidney diseases, was born in Goudhurst.
Stephen Law, Governor of Bombay from 1739–42, lived in Goudhurst at the time of his death.
