Frant - (King Johns hunting lodge)

General Details

Frant in East Sussex lies on the A267 between Mayfield and Royal Tunbridge Wells .

Towards Mark Cross on the top of the hill lies Saxonbury , an old Celtic Hill Fort , this is about 2 miles from the current village, and had bloomeries and slag showing some of the earliest Iron Workings in the area.

In the 900's Frant was part of the parish of Rotherfield , but it is likely that few people lived there. Its first mention is after the Domesday Book during the 1100's when a chapel is recorded as being in the village. The chapel was given to the Bishop of Rochester by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

It is believed that King John once owned a hunting lodge in the village , this is possible, as John was said to have watched bear baiting at Headcorn not too far away.

During the reign of Edward I in 1296 the village was granted a Tuesday market and a Fair in the beginning of November.

Three Frant men followed Jack Cade in the Kentish rebellion of 1450 marching on London and seizing power for a few days, luckily the three were pardoned.

The 16th century brought the manufacture of cannons to the area, and the register of the time mentions hammermen, colliers(charcoal burners) and Frenchmen(Technical men Imported from France). The local Iron Master family were the Carpenters, who owned large parts of the village.

In 1765 the Tunbridge Wells to Wadhurst road was made a turnpike and a toll was built in the village.

During the Napoleonic era, a military camp was to be found nearby towards Groombridge , and in 1793 eighteen soldiers died from smallpox and were buried in Frant churchyard.

The smugglers were also to be found in this area, and in 1815, George Burgess of Frant was gaoled at Horsham , and was released after a paying £430 fine . He was probably a member of the Groombridge Gang .

The area was affected by the Swing riots in the autumn of 1830 with the land workers demanding reasonable wages, these were put down forceably by army on 15th November. A number of local workers were imprisoned or transported to the colonies.

During the second world war, Canadian troops were billetted in the area.

Views

Frant in East Sussex lies on top of a hill, and has beautiful views to the south west across Eridge park, the best ones are from the Abergavenny Arms on the A267.

The old part of the village by the church is quite picturesque, and the green is very attractive.

Services

Frant in East Sussex has a few local village shops, but the main shopping centre is in Royal Tunbridge Wells about 4 miles to the north west. With its supermarkets and Victoria centre.

Busses pass through the village to Wadhurst , Mayfield and Royal Tunbridge Wells .

The nearest train services run from Bells Yew Green about 2 miles north, and provide hourly services to London and Hastings .

Map

Frant is shown as the red symbol on the map.

Nearby Villages
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