Cranbrook And Benenden

Kent Ramblers: Walk 126 — Cranbrook and Benenden

Points of Interest

Cranbrook

The smallest 'town' in Kent achieved prosperity in the 14th to 16th centuries through the cloth trade.
Often called the 'capital of the Weald' it retains great charm and is dominated by a fine smock windmill built in 1814 for Henry Dobell.

Great Swifts

There has been a house on this site at least since the 15th century when a dwelling was sold by a Stephen Swift. This presumably accounts for the many earlier names of the house and the estate incorporating the name 'Swift' or 'Swifts'. From 1770 to 1820 the house was owned by the Austen family, relatives of Jane Austen.
The present house was built in 1937 by Major Victor Cazalet, MP for Chippenham. He died in an air crash in 1943 after which the house was first let and then sold to the exiled Queen Maria of Yugoslavia and her sons.
The house was renamed 'Oak Hill Manor' in around 1995 and may recently have reverted to the former name of 'Great Swifts'.

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