The historic market town of Wadhurst is set in the High Weald Area of Natural Beauty. The town centre still has many striking historic buildings dating from between 1500 and 1800, and the central High Street is said to run along the site of an ancient Roman track. It now houses a post office, health food store, village pubs (The White Hart & The Greyhound Inn), a contemporary art gallery, Indian restaurant, a popular supermarket, gift shops, beauty and hair salons as well as a fantastic hardware store. Traditional industry was in fact ironwork and oak woodwork. It is said that a beam in Westminster Hall was made from Wadhurst oak, as were warships made in Chatham.
Wadhurst is located in East Sussex and convenient for the shopping and events taking place in Tunbridge Wells, or for the pretty village shops of Mayfield, a trip to Hastings on the South coast or Bewl Water to the East. You are surrounded by walks and country life on your doorstep making it ideal for dog and horse owners.
Wadhurst has a History Society who have an interesting article online about the Wadhurst Park estate which was once visited by Lord Randolph Churchill and Edward VII Prince of Wales – the original grand building was demolished in the 1950’s and an acclaimed architect designed a steel and terrazzo building for Mr Hans Rausing whose family sold the rights to the Tetra Pak empire – reputedly one of the wealthiest men in the world and higher on the UK Rich List than the Queen when he died in 2019. The estate is now run with the intention of being a leading example of sustainable environmental management.
There is an artistic community around Wadhurst and the village hall has, for many years, staged the September Art Exhibition displaying a high standard of art and sculpture by local artists, selected by a committee.
Wadhurst has a village C of E Primary school and a popular mixed, non-selective secondary school called Uplands Community College which has historically had a good reputation for art and sport. Leading independent girls school Mayfield is very close and offers boarding as well as equestrian facilities.
One of the selling points of living in Wadhurst is that it is on the main train line running from Hastings to London Charing Cross although the station is a short walk from the town, being over a mile from the Post Office on the High Street for example.
Wadhurst is a market town with a country village feel to it. Residents love their proximity to Tunbridge Wells while enjoying the pleasure of being in the middle of some of the finest Sussex countryside. Property prices have risen in the last 12 months in Sussex as in the rest of the country. The average house price in Wadhurst is £534k according to Dataloft (July 2021). A rise of over 10% in a year. The average is undoubtedly skewed by the £1m plus countryside properties surrounding Wadhurst centre. Until recently it was the home of television favourite, Davina McCall who reportedly sold her family home for over £6m to move to Tunbridge Wells. The average rent is £1355 which was 8% up on July 2020. Just 29% of properties let in Wadhurst were flats Over 50% were detached houses and in general, Belvoir have had spacious family houses to offer as rentals in Wadhurst.
If you have any questions about buying or renting in Wadhurst or the surrounding villages, our experienced team would be happy to help. Please call 01892 615333
