Sissinghurst


Sissinghurst is a small village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. Originally called Milkhouse Street, Sissinghurst changed its name in the 1850s, possibly to avoid association with the smuggling and cockfighting activities of the Hawkhurst Gang. It is in the civil parish of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst.
The nearest railway station is at Staplehurst.

Geography

Sissinghurst is situated with Cranbrook to the south, Goudhurst to the west, Tenterden to the east and Staplehurst to the north. It sits just back from the A229 which goes from Rochester to Hawkhurst.

History

Sissinghurst's history is similar to that of nearby Cranbrook. Iron Age working tools have been found and the village was for centuries a meeting and resting place for people travelling towards the south coast.

Sissinghurst Castle Garden

Sissinghurst's garden was created in the 1930s by Vita Sackville-West, poet and gardening writer, and her husband Harold Nicolson, author and diplomat. Sackville-West was a writer on the fringes of the Bloomsbury group who found her greatest popularity in the weekly columns she contributed as gardening correspondent of The Observer, which incidentally - for she never touted it - made her own garden famous. The garden itself is designed as a series of "rooms", each with a different character of colour and/or theme, divided by high clipped hedges and pink brick walls.

Trinity Church

Sissinghurst's religious activities are served by Church of England. The church is titled 'Trinity Church' and was built in 1838. It is currently managed by Rev. Pete Deaves who is also Rector of Frittenden.

People

People of note who have lived in Sissinghurst include: