Sandhurst is a village in the

borough of Tunbridge Wells The Borough of Tunbridge Wells is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It takes its name from its main town, Royal Tunbridge Wells. The borough also contains the towns of Paddock Wood and Southborough, along with n ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England, close to the border with

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

. It is situated on the A268 road near the villages of

Hawkhurst Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding N ...

and

Northiam Northiam is a village and civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district, in East Sussex, England, 13 miles (21 km) north of Hastings in the valley of the River Rother, East Sussex, River Rother. The A28 road to Ashford, Kent, Ashford ...

. The

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

in 1348-49 is believed to be the cause of why the church in Sandhurst is so far from the main village, although it could also be explained by an increase in trade heading from Hawkhurst to Rye, where the majority of the village now rests.

Facilities

* Sandhurst Primary School is in the centre of the village and was founded in 1909. * 'Johnson's of Sandhurst', formerly 'Mace' after a supplier change, is the main shop, selling a variety of food and other items as well as housing the

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

. There are also a beauty salon, a tea room, a garage and a hardware store. * St. Nicholas' Church is located in Sandhurst Cross, about a mile south from the main village. There is also a Baptist church, located on the A268, Rye Road. * Sandhurst windmill ( Ringle Crouch Green) has been rebuilt from the base, which was all that remained. It now serves as a house, but supplies electricity. * There is a social club on the back road in the village, open to members and guests, providing live entertainment as well as facilities for darts, pool, and television. * The New Swan is the only

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

in the village, offering food and drinks as well as regular live entertainment and karaoke nights. * There are two tea rooms in the village.

Roads

The main road through the village is the A268, Rye Road. Bodiam Road leads to

Bodiam Bodiam () is a small village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. It lies in the valley of the River Rother, near to the villages of Sandhurst and Ewhurst Green. Geography South of the village of Bodiam and exte ...

in the south; Sponden Lane at the western end of the village goes to

Benenden Benenden is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The parish is located on the Weald, to the west of Tenterden. In addition to the main village, Iden Green, East End, Dingleden and Standen Street set ...

, to the north of the village. Sandhurst is served by the

Arriva Southern Counties Arriva Southern Counties Limited, trading as Arriva Southern Counties, is a bus operator in Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire, and Surrey in England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which is part of the Arriva group owned by Deutsche Bahn. The ...

number 5 bus to

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, but not on Sundays.

Twinning

Sandhurst is twinned with the village of Heuringhem in northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. There is an active Sandhurst Twinning Association.

Landmarks

Significant landmarks in the village include the clock tower, which was built in 1889 in memory of Arthur Oakes and is a grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, and Sandhurst War Memorial, which was designed by

Sir Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...

and unveiled in 1923 and sits in an elaborate setting; it is also grade II listed.

References

{{authority control Villages in Kent Civil parishes in Kent