The Hawkenbury  Inn ® , Restaurant and  B & B serving Maidstone area,  

History of the Hawkenbury

Established c. 1890, the Hawkenbury was very popular with hop pickers on their annual “Londoners’

Holiday”. At its height, in the inter-war years, about 200,000 East Enders - mostly women and

children - made the annual pilgrimage down into the Kentish hop gardens and the Hare and Hounds, as it was then known, was a local pub which welcomed the people who worked in the fields opposite.

In WWII the Hare and Hounds was the watering hole for RAF Staplehurst, based behind the pub

towards Chickenden Lane. The USAAF Station Code was "SH" and 363D Fighter Group was based there. Headcorn Aerodrome has a fascinating WWII flying history museum with many exhibits of local interest , with free parking and admission Link  www.lashendenairwarfaremuseum.co.uk/ .

One of the most notable WWII  patrons at the Hawkenbury was Colonel John R. Ulricson who flew his P-51 "Lolita" from RAF Staplehurst. Ulricson’s Finest Staplehurst Ale was sold in the pub until 2014. The Hawkenbury now regularly stocks fine Kentish cask ales produced by local breweries.