Sissinghurst
historySissinghurst is a small village in the county of Kent in England. Originally called Mylkehouse, Sissinghurst changed its name in the 1850s, possibly to avoid association with the smuggling and cockfighting activities of the Hawkhurst Gang.»Paul and Mina Tully: Sissinghurst Exposed... a New Slant on an Old Village
The nearest railway station is at Staplehurst.
Geography
Sissinghurst is situated with Cranbrook to the south, Goudhurst to the west, Tenterden to the east and Staplehurst to the north. It sits just back from the A229 which goes from Rochester to Hawkhurst.
History
Sissinghurst's history is similar to that of nearby Cranbrook. Iron Age working tools have been found and the village was for centuries a meeting and resting place for people travelling towards the south coast.
Sissinghurst's garden was created in the 1930s by Vita Sackville-West, poet and gardening writer, and her husband Harold Nicolson, author and diplomat. Sackville-West was a writer on the fringes of the Bloomsbury group who found her greatest popularity in the weekly columns she contributed as gardening correspondent of The Observer, which incidentally – for she never touted it – made her own garden famous. Sissinghurst's garden is one of the best-loved in the whole of the United Kingdom, drawing visitors from all over the world. The garden itself is designed as a series of "rooms", each with a different character of colour and/or theme, divided by high clipped hedges and pink brick walls.
The Church
Sissinghurst's religious activities are served by its Anglican church, Trinity Church (built in 1838), with the Rev Allan Norris who is also Rector of Frittenden.»Church of England, Diocese of Canterbury, Trinity Church, Sissinghurst
People
People of note who have lived in Sissinghurst include:
- Ian Hislop. The editor of Private Eye and team captain on the popular satirical current affairs quiz Have I Got News for You.
- Victoria Hislop, author and wife of Ian Hislop
- Vita Sackville-West, The Hon Lady Nicolson, English poet, novelist and gardener.
- Sir Harold Nicolson, British diplomat, author and politician.
- Peter Vibart, Fictional character in Jeffery Farnol's book The Broad Highway. Much of the novel is set in Sissinghurst.