Goudhurst climbs a hill in the Weald, from a duck pond and oast houses at the bottom, up the old High Street to St Mary’s church at the top. The church tower was rebuilt in 1638 after lightning destroyed the old one, and has wide views. Inside are painted wooden effigies of a Culpeper knight and his wife, and opposite the churchyard is a row of weavers’ cottages. In April 1747 the Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers threatened to burn the village, but a local militia led by William Sturt, a former army corporal, fought them off, shooting dead the gang leader’s brother, George Kingsmill. Bedgebury National Pinetum is nearby, and the High Weald Landscape Trail passes through.
