A Surrey County Archaeological unit watching brief of the demolition of the building and groundworks for a new care home took place in January and February 2015. It aided understanding of the building materials used inh the late Victorian building and revealed a possible trackway that may have been used for materials movements during its construction. (1)

The report gives this brief summary of the work:
"A programme of archaeological observation was undertaken during ground level reductions
and the removal of the foundations of the main building that constituted the former
Barnardo’s children’s home at Cranbrook Road, Hawkhurst, Kent. The results enhanced
the understanding of some of the construction methods and materials employed in the late
Victorian structure, whilst the groundwork observations revealed a fabricated, steel
trackway that may have been used for materials movements during its construction. Other
results related to a structure contemporary with the home’s construction and a ditch that
was most likely a field boundary ditch that pre-dated it. No further archaeological
investigation is recommended in relation to this development." (1)

Surrey County Archaeological Unit, 2014, Hawkhurst Castle, Cranbrook Road, Hawkhurst, Kent, Historic Building Assessment (Unpublished document). SKE31509.

<1> Surrey County Archaeological Unit, 2015, The planned development of a care home following the demolition of a former Barnard’s children’s home at Hawkhurst Castle, Cranbrook Road, Hawkhurst, Kent, An archaeological watching brief (Unpublished document). SKE31270.