The village's name is derived from the Anglo Saxonhors meaning 'horse', bune or burna and denn, a Kentish word meaning 'wooded pasture'. The village is first recorded as Horsbundenne around the turn of the twelfth century. The village was an important centre of the post-medieval iron industry and the nearby Furnace Pond is one of the largest of the artificial lakes made to provide water power for the works. King Charles I visited the foundry in 1638 to watch a cannon being cast – a bronze four-pounder, forty-two inches long, now preserved in London's White Tower. The village was home to Jane Austen's grandfather who lived at Broadford, a 15th century clothmaster’s hall, and several other of her relatives. The main Austen residence moved from Broadford to Capel Manor House which was constructed in 1860 but demolished in 1966. Many of the family's graves can be seen in the churchyard of St. Margaret's Church. There is a gypsy horse fair held on the village green each year. In 2000, the localparish council with assistance of the then-Home Secretary Jack Straw, ruled that due to ongoing safety concerns, the fair would not go ahead and a 5-mile exclusion zone was put in place. However, due to protests and legal action from the wider gypsy community, this decision was overturned and the fairs resumed following a compromise between the travellers and the local authorities in 2001. The village church, St Margaret's, is located some distance away from the centre of the village towards the neighbouring village of Goudhurst. Just outside the village is the 16th-century National Trust property Sprivers, which has an open garden at specific dates as part of the National Gardens Scheme.
Public transport
When the branch railway line to Hawkhurst was operating, there was a railway station for the village. However Horsmonden railway stationclosed in 1961. The station site is now used as a garage called "Old Station Garage" and the stationmaster's house is now a private residence. Today the only public transport for Horsmonden is the 297 bus route previously operated by Renown, but now operated by Hams Travel and a 296 which goes to Tunbridge Wells from Paddock Wood operated by Arriva. There are also two school bus services operated by Hams Travel.
Cricket club
dates back to 1738. The team is first recorded in July 1738, playing against Chislehurst Cricket Club on Chislehurst Common. A return match took place at an unspecified venue in Horsmonden on Friday, 21 July 1738, The club retained prominence into the 1740s. The club today is home to eight cricket teams: four men's sides and five youth sides.
Notable people
John Browne, gunfounder, leased Brenchley Furnace, the site of which is now in Horsmonden.
