We are right in the centre of Hawkhurst, said to be the biggest village in Kent. Our two Dunk’s charities exist to provide affordable accommodation for local people who meet the charity’s criteria and to engage actively with educational projects in our village.
We owe our existence to Sir Thomas Dunk who died in 1718. English ironmonger and benefactor, appointed Sheriff of London in 1711, in his Will he endowed for Hawkhurst six almshouses, a school for twenty boys, and a house for a school master.
The fine Dunks building completed in 1723, a real centrepiece in our village, now offers homes to more than double the number of people envisaged by Sir Thomas. Furthermore, his fine schoolroom is, nearly 300 years later, a useful meeting room which the Trustees are delighted to hire out at reasonable cost.
