History & heritage

The history of Martins Farm starts with the records we can read: census returns, old maps and the buildings themselves. Beyond the yard, the Journal follows the stories of Frant, Wadhurst, Tunbridge Wells and the wider High Weald. Start with the farm’s documented past or explore the origins of the oast house and the landscape around it. This is also the home for our growing 1066 Country series, with new pieces added as they are published.

Latest in History & heritage

7 September 2026 · 6 minutes

Why Does One Side of Wadhurst High Street Look So Much Older Than the Other?

A High Weald high street, centuries of history and the day a jet aircraft changed its appearance for good.

28 August 2026 · 5 minutes

Three Heritage Open Days worth booking from Martins Farm

For ten days in September, estate offices, old churches and local archives open doors that are normally shut. These are the three we would choose from Martins Farm.

25 August 2026 · 9 minutes

What Is the High Weald? Why This Landscape Still Looks Medieval

Pigs made some of the roads, farmers cleared the fields one at a time, and sandstone did the rest. How the High Weald acquired a landscape that still carries its medieval pattern.

15 August 2026 · 6 minutes

The Queen, Poohsticks and the Hundred Acre Wood

A few miles from Martins Farm, Ashdown Forest became the Hundred Acre Wood — and in July, Queen Camilla arrived to play Poohsticks on the bridge where it began.

15 August 2026 · 6 minutes

Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells

Nobody has ever produced the first letter. The town has been living with the signature ever since — and, on the whole, wearing it rather well.

13 August 2026 · 5 minutes

What is an oast house?

A short history of the building that dried the hops — the kiln, the cowl and the draught — and what happens when one of them stops working and starts housing people instead.

The Journal