The parish also includes the settlements of Colemans Hatch, Hammerwood and Holtye, all lying on the northern edge of Ashdown Forest.

From the 13th Century up until the time of Queen Elizabeth I, much of the land was in the ownership of the Dukes of Dorset (the Sackville family).

The Haywagon Inn (originally known as The Dorset Arms) dates to the 16th Century and was closed in 2015 following a planning application to convert to housing.

[5] Popes Cottage is reputedly the oldest building in the village, originally built as a hall house in 1236.

[7] Henry VIII was believed to have used Bolebroke Castle, located a short distance from the village, where he hunted wild boar and deer at the nearby Ashdown Forest.

[citation needed] Hartfield had a railway station on the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line until it was closed in 1967.

The church here is dedicated to the Holy Trinity and is part of the joint benefice with St Mary's Hartfield.

[9] The imposing South Hartfield House was the residence of General Sir Reginald Hildyard, who died there in 1965.

A hammer-pond is a water reservoir created specifically for providing power to water-powered hammers, forges or blast furnaces.

Aside from a number of houses, the most notable buildings are St Stephen's Church[11] and Hammerwood Park at the end of the lane, which was the centre of what was a large country estate extending in its heyday to over 2,500 acres (1,000 ha).

The church was completed in 1880 funded by local landowner Oswald Augustus Smith and built to a design of E.P.

[14] Built in 1792, it was the first work of the architect Benjamin Latrobe, who was also responsible for the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.[15] It was purchased by the rock band Led Zeppelin in 1973, but not properly maintained by them.

In the nineteenth century, extensive repairs were made to the roof and many of the present furnishings in the church were added.