Cranbrook

The town of Cranbrook is situated on the western side of the parish, on the road leading from Maidstone by Stylebridge towards Hawkhurst and Sussex, at the 52d mile-stone, and consists of one large wide street, of about a mile in length, having the church nearly in the centre of it. There is but a very small part of it paved, from the market-place eastward, which was begun in 1654, being done through mere necessity; the deepness and mire of the soil before, being not only a great hindrance to the standing of the market people, but to the passing of all travellers in general. The market is still held on a Saturday, for corn and hops, and is a very plentiful one for meat and other provisions. It was obtained by Archbishop Peckham, anno 18 Edward I. And there are two fairs held yearly, on May 30, and Sept. 29, for horned cattle, horses, linen drapery, toys, &c. but the latter is the largest, at which there is a great deal of business done in the hop trade. Here was the centre of the cloathing trade, one of the pillars of the kingdom, which formerly flourished in these parts, and greatly enriched not only this county, but the nation in general. The occupation of it was formerly of considerables consequences and estimation, and was exercised by persons who possessed most of the landed property in the Weald, insomuch that almost all the antient families of these parts, now of large estates, and genteel rank in life, and some of them ennobled by titles, are sprung from, and owe their fortunes to ancestors who have used this great staple manufacture, now almost unknown here. Among others, the Bathursts, Ongleys, Courthopes. Maplesdens, Gibbons's, Westons, Plumers, Austens, Dunkes, and Stringers. They were usually called, from their dress, the grey coats of Kent, and were a body so numerous and united, that at county elections, whoever had their votes and interest was almost certain of being elected. It was first introduced here by king Edward III who, in his 10th year, invited some of the Flemings into England, by promises of large rewards, and grants of several immunities, to teach the English the cloth manufacture; but this trade, after flourishing here for so many centuries, is now almost disused in these parts, there being only two houses of it remaining in this parish; but there is yet some little of the woolstapling business carried on. The inhabitants throughout the parish, who are in general wealthy and substantial, are computed to be about 3000, of which a great part are dissenters from the Church of England, for whose use there are four meeting-houses in the town, one for Presbyterians, the second for Methodistical Baptists, the third for Cavinistical Baptists, and the fourth for Independants. The Presbyterians formerly were the most numerous sect throughout this county; but they are greatly diminished of late years, and the Methodistical Baptists are the prevailing sect, and greatly increasing every year, through every part of it. Besides these there is a meeting-house for the Quakers, with a burying ground, but I beleive there is not one of this sect in the parish, though they yet hold an annual meeting here. extract from Hasted's History of Kent published in 1798

Cranbrook directory of homes, farms, churches, schools, inns, and other places of interest that existed prior to 1900 has been compiled from Census data, Ordnance survey maps and books of the period

Parish & other records		Before 1500	1500 to 1550	1550 to 1600	1600 to 1650	1650 to 1700	1700 to 1725	1725 to 1750	1750 to 1775	1775 to 1800	1800 to 1825	1825 to 1850	1850 to 1875	1875 to 1900	1900 to 1925	1925 to 1950	1950 to 1975	1975 to 2000	After 2000
3047	Births	1	2	61	60	5	1		5	30	335	630	1316	599	1	1
188	Christenings			54	57	5			4	13	17	19	17	2
86	Marriages	2		12	10	12	2		4	4	6	22	8	4
24	Deaths		1	2	5	5	2					1	2	3	3
16	Burials			4	2	5	2					1		1	1

Books and other documents

The Tunbridge Wells Guide by J. Sprange in 1797 - Page 263

The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent - Volume VII by Edward Hasted in 1798 - Page 90

Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex in 1839

New Guide for Tunbridge Wells by John Colbran and edited by James Phippen in 1840 - Page 223

The Great Rebellion in Kent of 1381 Illustrated from the Public Records by W. E. Flaherty in 1860 - Page 80

An Historical Account of Dence's School & Schoolmasters from 1568 to 1865 by William Tarbutt in 1866 - Page 1

School Inquiry Commision Vol XI South-East Division by C. I. Elton and H. A. Giffard in 1868 - Page 41

Kelly's Directory of Kent by E. R. Kelly, M.A., F.S.S. in 1882

A Glimpse at Cranbrook - The Town of the Weald by W. Stanley Martin in 1896 - Page 2

Highways and Byways in Kent by Walter Jerrold with Illustrations by Hugh Thomson in 1914 - Page 245

Early History of Cranbrook School by Leland L. Duncan in 1923 - Page 127

Notes on the life of Sir John Baker of Sissinghurst by Rev. F.V. Baker in 1926 - Page 5

How the 19th c. Cranbrook Colony were influenced in style and subject matter by the 17th c. Dutch Genre Masters by Hamish J. Lemmens in 1995

People of note

Baker, Sir John (c1488 - 1558) Bloody Baker Dence, Alexander (c1520 - 1574) Dence's Free School Hardy, Frederick Daniel (1827 - 1911) Cranbrook Colony Painter Hardy, George (1822 - 1909) Cranbrook Colony Painter Horsley, John Callcott (1817 - 1903) Cranbrook Colony Painter Lynche, Simon (c1495 - 1573/4) Cranbrook Grammar School Mulready, Augustus Edwin (1844 - 1904) Cranbrook Colony Painter O'Neill, George Bernard (1828 - 1917) Cranbrook Colony Painter Webster, Thomas (1800 - 1886) Cranbrook Colony Painter

Cranbrook pictures	Milkhouse Chapel 1798	Cranbrook c 1800	Thomas Webster c 1865	Thomas Webster at Webster House 1884	Grammar School Lodge 1896	J. Wilmshurst, Family Butcher, Stone Street 1896	T.S. Stokes & Sons, Outfitters 1896
	Clermont House 1896	The George Family and Commercial Hotel 1896	Bull Family and Commercial Hotel 1896	Angley Wood 1896	Glassenbury House 1896	Glassenbury House 1896	Hockridge 1896