Matfield currently has a butcher's and grocery store. Following the closure of The Wheel Wright's Arms in 2017, the village now only has two pubs, The Star and a gastropub, The Poet at Matfield, which was formerly known as the Standing's Cross. This unusual name lasted for over 150 years from the earliest days of the pub. It was so named as, in the 1840s, John Standing ran an alehouse in his cottage and served his customers homebrew from barrels in his front room. However, he had problems with his cellar which flooded whenever it rained. So, he sold his house and moved across the road into a bakery – converting it into Matfield’s new alehouse. The pub was creatively named to celebrate this event, hence ‘Standing’s Cross’.[2] More recently the pub was renamed to ‘The Poet’ in commemoration of the World War One poet, Siegfried Sassoon, who was born in the village.
The village grew up around its village green, which is the largest in Kent.[3] The village green features a large pond at its northern end. Overlooking the green is the grade I listed Matfield House, a Georgian building with a stable block and coachhouse at the rear.[4] The green is used for events such as the annual village fete and by Matfield Cricket Club for home matches.
