The village is known as 'the woodland gateway to the countryside' [4] and is surrounded by ancient woodlands.
The area ranges between approximately 40 and 50 metres above sea level.
History
A fairly comprehensive historical overview in Edward Hasted's History and Topography of Kent covers, for instance, the church and the village as well as the recorded history up to the end of the 18th century.[5]
Reverend Charles Rolfe (1800-1877), who worked as the rector of Shadoxhurst's St Peter and Paul Church for thirty-nine years was directly descended from John Rolfe of Heacham who married Chief Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas on April 5, 1614 in Jamestown, Virginia.