Penshurst

For other uses, see Penshurst (disambiguation).

Penshurst
Population	1,479
OS grid reference	TQ525435
Civil parish	Penshurst
District	Sevenoaks
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Tonbridge
Postcode district	TN11
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Tonbridge and Malling

Penshurst is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The parish is located on the northern slopes of the Weald, west of Tonbridge. Within the parish boundaries are the two villages of Penshurst and Fordcombe, with a combined population of some 1,479 persons. The majority of the parish is in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Penshurst village is located some 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Tonbridge and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Sevenoaks. It lies in a valley near the confluence of two rivers, the Medway and the Eden. To the south of the village, within the parish, are the settlements of Saint's Hill and Smart's Hill.

The village grew up around Penshurst Place, the ancestral home of the Sidney family. There are many Tudor-looking buildings in the village, although some are Victorian. Henry Stafford the first Baron Stafford was born here in 1501. There is also a vineyard nearby.

The Leicester Arms, once part of the Penshurst Estate, was owned by Sir William Sidney, grandfather of poet and statesman Sir Philip Sidney. His other grandson, the Viscount De L’isle, was appointed Earl of Leicester in 1618 and it was shortly after this that The Leicester Arms, formerly known as The Porcupine, was renamed in his honour. The pub and hotel is now owned privately.

Penshurst railway station, on the Tonbridge to Redhill railway line, is some 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the village, at the hamlet of Chiddingstone Causeway. Penshurst Airfield was located close to the station, but within the parish of Leigh. It opened in 1916 as a military airfield, and served as a civil airfield from 1919-36. It was reopened as RAF Penshurst in 1940, and closed in 1946.

Penshurst Place

Main article: Penshurst Place

Penshurst Place is a mansion built in 1341 and is the ancestral home of the Sidney family. The house and gardens are open to public viewing. The banqueting hall at Penshurst Place has been used as a filming location for the Hollywood films The Other Boleyn Girl and The Princess Bride as well as the BBC television series Merlin.

St John the Baptist Church

Main article: St John the Baptist, Penshurst

The parish church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, is one of the two churches in the civil parish. The Grade I listed church houses many memorials and tombs, including those of a Viceroy of India, two Field Marshals and two winners of the Victoria Cross.

Notable residents

• The Sidney family of Penshurst Place, including
  • Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586), poet, courtier, scholar, and soldier of the Elizabethan era
  • William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle VC, KG, GCMG, GCVO, KStJ, PC (1909–1991), Governor-General of Australia
• The Hardinge family, including
  • Field Marshal Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge GCB, PC (1785–1856), British Army officer and politician
  • Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst KG, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, ISO, PC (1858–1944), Viceroy of India
  • Frances Hardinge (b 1973), author
• Sandy Gall, a former ITN newscaster.

External links

• Penshurst Parish Council
• Historic images of Penshurst
• "Discover-the-Garden-of-England" - the section on Penshurst