Gibbet Lane, Horsmonden, once the site of many a grisly execution In common with other Wealden villages, 18th century Horsmonden was in smuggling country and, being astride the Tonbridge road, was also the haunt of highwaymen. The most notorious smugglers of that time were the Hawkhurst Gang Hawkhurst_Gang who used to terrorise the locality. It is said that the cellars of Grovehurst, old "Clothmaster's Hall", and secret passages leading from them, were used for their contraband. In 1747, seven members of the gang, including its leader Richard Kingsmill, were cornered nearby after a shoot out with militia. They were duly hanged here and, as a warning to the parish, the bodies of two of them, Gore and Fairall by name, were displayed in Horsmonden chained up to a post in Gibbet Lane,
- Category
- Highway Men
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