Matfield Explained

Country:England
Official Name:Matfield
Static Image Name:Matfield Post Office.jpg
Static Image Width:250
Static Image Caption:Matfield Post Office
Civil Parish:Brenchley and Matfield
Shire District:Tunbridge Wells
Shire County:Kent
Region:South East England
Constituency Westminster:Tunbridge Wells
Post Town:Tonbridge
Postcode District:TN12
Postcode Area:TN
Dial Code:01892
Os Grid Reference:TQ655415
Coordinates:51.1488°N 0.3648°W

Matfield is a small village, part of the civil parish of Brenchley and Matfield, in the Tunbridge Wells borough of Kent, England. Matfield was awarded the title of Kent Village of the Year in 2010.[1]

Buildings and amenities

St Luke's Church is a Grade II listed building.

Matfield currently has a butcher's and grocery store. Following the closure of The Wheel Wright's Arms in 2017, the village now only has two pubs, The Star and a gastropub, The Poet at Matfield, which was formerly known as the Standing's Cross. This unusual name lasted for over 150 years from the earliest days of the pub. It was so named as, in the 1840s, John Standing ran an alehouse in his cottage and served his customers homebrew from barrels in his front room. However, he had problems with his cellar which flooded whenever it rained. So, he sold his house and moved across the road into a bakery – converting it into Matfield’s new alehouse. The pub was creatively named to celebrate this event, hence ‘Standing’s Cross’.[2] More recently the pub was renamed to ‘The Poet’ in commemoration of the World War One poet, Siegfried Sassoon, who was born in the village.

Geography

Matfield is located around 5miles southeast of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 2miles south of Paddock Wood.

The village grew up around its village green, which is the largest in Kent.[3] The village green features a large pond at its northern end. Overlooking the green is the grade I listed Matfield House, a Georgian building with a stable block and coachhouse at the rear. The green is used for events such as the annual village fete and by Matfield Cricket Club for home matches.

Notable people

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Matfield is Kent Village of the Year! . March 21, 2011 . September 16, 2010 . Brenchley Parish Council . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110812210037/http://brenchleyandmatfield.co.uk/item/matfield-kent-village-year . August 12, 2011 .
  2. Web site: Standing's Cross . DOVER KENT ARCHIVES . Paul Skelton . 8 August 2021.
  3. Web site: Brenchley & Matfield – Villages in the Weald of Kent . March 21, 2011 . Brenchley Parish Council.