Knockholt itself is split into two areas, [[3982|Knockholt village]] and [[3993|Knockholt Pound]]. The unusual distance of the station from the village is due to a potential name confusion with Halstead in Essex – the nearest village to the station is Halstead, Kent. Hence the railway company deciding to name it unusually. Hayes, Kent (Hayes, Middlesex) and Farnborough, Kent (Farnborough, Hampstead) have caused equal confusion over the years but this didn’t seem to matter so much.
Knockholt is also rather unusual in that it spent from 1965 to 1969 within the boundary of Greater London but a local petition successfully moved the area back into Kent.
Knockholt inspired local resident Edith Nesbitt to set her children’s classic The Railway Children here. The station dates from 1876 when it was opened as ’Halstead for Knockholt’, being renamed simply ’Knockholt’ on 1 October 1900. Between 1887 and 1915, a twice daily bus service operated between Knockholt village and the station.
