By Brenda S. Cox
“At the end of the sixteenth century there was living at Horsmonden—a small village in the Weald of Kent—a certain John Austen. . . . a man of considerable means, owning property in Kent and Sussex and elsewhere . . . including in all probability the manor house of Broadford in Horsmonden. . . . [His wealth was] doubtless derived from the clothing trade. . . . John Austen died in 1620, leaving a large family. . . . The fifth son, Francis, who died in 1687, describes himself in his will as a clothier, of Grovehurst; this place being, like Broadford, a pretty timbered house of moderate size near the picturesque old village of Horsmonden. Both houses still belong to the Austen family.”—Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters, 1913, chapter 1 [A “weald” is a heavily wooded area.]
George Austen’s family hailed from Horsmonden, a village in rural Kent. Its name means “horsemen’s woodland pasture.” It is 12 miles from Tonbridge, where George Austen grew up, and 29 miles from Godmersham, where Jane’s brother inherited an estate from their Knight relatives in Kent.
Horsmonden Village
St. Margaret’s church is about 2 miles outside of the village. The village has been a center at various times for different industries. Their ironworks supplied weapons and ammunition for the English Civil War in the mid-1600s. Earlier in the 1600s, Horsmonden’s clothworks produced Kentish broadcloth, mainly as a cottage industry in weavers’ homes. The Austens were the “clothmasters,” living in homes called “halls” that combined private residences with offices and warehouses. Later the area became known for growing hops, used in brewing beer.
The Austens at Horsmonden
The first John Austen and his son Francis are buried in the Horsmonden church. As the historian who authored St. Margaret’s Church Horsmonden wrote, “This was the family, let it be noted, from which sprang the immortal Jane.” John Austen I was Jane Austen’s grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather.
The Austen lineage:
John Austen I (Jane’s great-great-great-great-grandfather, Horsmonden)
—Francis I (great-great-great-grandfather, Horsmonden)
—John Austen III (great-great-grandfather, Horsmonden)
—John Austen IV (great-grandfather, Horsmonden)
—William Austen the surgeon (grandfather, Tonbridge)
—Rev. George Austen (father, Tonbridge, Steventon)
—Jane Austen (Steventon)
Historic St. Margaret’s, Horsmonden
St. Margaret’s Horsmonden Today
The parish includes over 2,000 people. Only about 40 regularly attend services in the church, while another 60-70 watch on YouTube. Many are in the church’s WhatsApp group, supporting one another in prayer. Much larger crowds, up to about 150, attend the church for weddings, funerals, baptisms, and holidays. On Good Friday they put up three crosses on the village green and have a large service there.
The church also hosts community events including concerts, popular speakers, and Jane Austen readings, and they go into the schools once a month to “open the Book,” teaching the Bible to school children. St. Margaret’s varies their services, offering traditional and modern communion services, family-oriented services, outdoor events, a café, and an informal worship time. Modern Anglican churches can range from very formal Anglo-Catholic styles to more relaxed evangelical styles. Horsmonden tends toward the more “low church,” evangelical approach.
Peaceful
Historian Anthony Cronk closes St. Margaret’s Horsmonden by saying:
“Today St. Margaret’s is essentially a parish church and a place of regular worship . . . it also attracts visitors from far and near. In this rural spot, away from the bustle of everyday life, one can spend a quiet moment savouring ‘the peace which passeth all understanding’. Jesus himself was referring to the need for this kind of occasional withdrawal when ‘he said unto them, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile:” for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat’ (Mark 6:31).
“Worship needs its focusing points in time and space; there must be holy places as well as holy days—places set apart for ever because of some association, hallowed by age-long custom—where people expect to find something inspiring and are not disappointed.
“One such place is St. Margaret’s, Horsmonden.”
Gentle readers, may you find such a place of peace and inspiration wherever you are.
Brenda S. Cox is the author of Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England. She also blogs at Faith, Science, Joy, and Jane Austen.
All photos in this post ©Brenda S. Cox, 2026
Sources
St. Margaret’s Church Horsmonden, by Anthony Crook, 1967, 3rd ed. 1995
Other Austen Family Churches
Hamstall Ridware and Austen’s First Cousin, Edward Cooper
Adlestrop and the Leigh Family
Stoneleigh Abbey Chapel and Mansfield Park
Great Bookham and Austen’s Godfather, Rev. Samuel Cooke
St. Paul’s Covent Garden (with links to other churches mentioned in Austen’s writings)
More Austen family churches, external posts (will be added to JAW later):
Winchester Cathedral and Jane Austen
St. Peter and St. Paul, Tonbridge
St. Peter’s Hurstbourne Tarrant (the Lloyds’ church)
Enjoyed this post linking Horsmonden with Jane.
A beautiful and beautifully illustrated post. Thank you.