History

Knights Hole or Knights in the Hole is a fifteenth century gamekeepers cottage surrounded by ancient woodland and orchards. Most of the open fields around us were for many years used as hop gardens, hopper huts where the seasonal hop pickers lived can still be seen at the top of the track and in our field.

Mostly from the East End of London these pickers would come by train and stay for six weeks earning money and having a holiday in the countryside. Unfortunately the English hop industry fell into decline in the 1980’s and many hop gardens were ploughed up for corn and barley and most oast houses are now converted into domestic properties.

Halfmoon Lodge started life as large barn and wagon Lodge and sometime in the 1930’s was turned into hopper huts and recently transformed into the luxury dwelling you see now, retaining many of the original oak beams. Situated on an ancient trackway that runs between the main house and the Lodge and continues up the valley towards Staplehurst and Marden. Reputedly used by the infamous Hawkhurst gang of smugglers. ‘’from a bedroom window overlooking Knights Hole could be seen a dozen to twenty horses coming up from the wood via Foxbury Bank, two or three ridden by smugglers, the others loose with packages on their backs’’.

The Hawkhurst Gang frequented The Star and Eagle in Goudhurst where more information can be found. The name Knights Hole unfortunately has nothing to do with either Templar or Garter but merely to the fact the Mr Knight used to live here. Halfmoon Lodge is so named because the present owners were landlords of the Famous Halfmoon pub and music venue in South West London.