Hucking is a small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

District of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. It is located north-east of

and south-west of

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

. The parish is governed by a parish meeting. The settlement sits atop the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...

in a designated

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

(AONB) near the villages of

Hollingbourne Hollingbourne is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is located on the southward slope of the North Downs to the east of the county town, Maidstone. The parish population is around 900 and has th ...

Detling Detling is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is located on the slope of the North Downs, north east of Maidstone, and on the Pilgrims' Way. History and features The ''Cock Horse Inn'' was used ...

Bicknor Bicknor is a village and civil parish in the Maidstone district of Kent, England, north-east of Maidstone and south-west of Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, bes ...

(where the population is included for census purposes) and

Wormshill Wormshill ( ), historically Wormsell, is a small village and civil parish within the Borough of Maidstone, Kent, England. The parish is approximately south of the Swale and east of Maidstone. The village of Frinsted lies to the east and Bi ...

and between the main

A249 The A249 is a road in Kent, England, running from Maidstone to Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. It mainly functions as a link between the M2 and M20 motorways, and for goods vehicle traffic to the port at Sheerness. In 2006 an upgraded d ...

and B2163 roads connecting the towns of Sittingbourne and Maidstone. The parish church is dedicated to St Margaret.

History

Hucking was historically part of the Hundred of Eyhorne.Hasted.E (1798
Parishes: Hucking
''The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 5'' pp. 569-572, Canterbury. Retrieved 2015-09-27. It has always been sparsely populated and isolated, with the parish forming part of the manor of

. The name may derive from Houkynnge, although in the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

it was also known as Rumpsted after the family which owned the land. The church of St Margaret is early Norman in origin and dates to around 1100 AD.Church of St Margaret, Hucking
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2015-09-27. It has a small, square wooden belfry in place of a tower and retains some medieval stonework. It was restored in around 1878 and many of its features date from the 19th century.
Kent Archaeology Society. Retrieved 2015-09-27. The church was designated as a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1968. Two carved headstones in the graveyard are also listed at the same grade.Headstone to ?williamson Circa 6 Yards West of Church of St Margaret, Hucking
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2015-09-27.Headstone to Elizabeth Seers Circa 6 Yards West of Church of St Margaret, Hucking
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2015-09-27. The local

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, the ''Hook & Hatchet'', was a traditional Kentish pub and, according to website of brewers and operators

Shepherd Neame Shepherd Neame is an English independent brewery which has been based in the market town of Faversham, Kent, for over 300 years. While 1698 is the brewery's official established date, town records show that commercial brewing has occurred on the ...

, had been run as such for around 100 years after a local family applied for a "

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

and cider" only licence in the late 19th century. The pub was put up for sale by the brewery in early 2015 and closed. An attempt to buy the pub, designated as an

asset of community value In England, an asset of community value (ACV) is land or property of importance to a local community which is subject to additional protection from development under the Localism Act 2011. Voluntary and community organisations can nominate an ass ...

, was made.Young. A
Action group set up to protect the Hook and Hatchet pub in Hucking
''Kent Online'', 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2015-09-27.Sutherland.E
Residents of hamlet with less than 100 people pledge to buy their local
''The Publican's Morning Advertiser'', 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2015-09-27. A possibly earlier building of the same name was in use as a pub from at least the first half of the 19th Century. The building is listed in the 1841 Census, with Elizabeth Sherwood as publican. The pub re-opened in June 2016. A Parcelforce van allegedly used in the

Securitas depot robbery The 2006 robbery of Securitas depot in Tonbridge, England, was the UK's largest cash robbery. It began with a kidnapping on the evening of 21 February and ended in the early hours of 22 February, when seven criminals stole almost £53million. ...

was recovered from the car park of the ''Hook & Hatchet'' on 23 February 2006. Metal cages and packaging material, that may have been used to transport the money, were recovered in a field in nearby

on 24 February 2006Money found after Securitas raid
BBC news website, 2006-02-24.

Geography and land use

The

North Downs Way The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Be ...

, a

long-distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-cou ...

that passes along the ridge of the North Downs, runs close to the village and parallel to the better-known

Pilgrims' Way The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's Way or Pilgrims Way) is the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. This name, of comparatively recent coinage ...

route. An area of around of

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

is owned and managed by the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tr ...

.Hucking Estate

. Retrieved 2015-09-27.A walk through Hucking estate

. Retrieved 2015-09-27. This land was purchased by the trust in 1997 in order to preserve woodland, hedgerow and chalk grassland habitats and landscapes. A car park and a series of walks and bridleways are provided at the site. A small radio transmitting station previously used by the military as part of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

ACE High Allied Command Europe Highband, better known as ACE High, was a fixed service NATO radiocommunication and early warning system dating back to 1956. After extensive testing ACE High was accepted by NATO to become operational in 1964/1965. The fr ...

relay communications system and more recently by mobile telephone companies is situated on farmland to the west of Hucking () on account of its clear, unobstructed position high on the North Downs. The facility now lies un-manned. However, despite the existence of mobile telephone technology at the transmitting station site, cellular network signal quality in the village remains poor. Racehorse trainer John Best trains his horses from Scragged Oak Farm in Hucking. His ''Hucking Horses'' syndicate is named for the village.

References

{{Maidstone Civil parishes in Kent Hamlets in Kent