Spotlight on Tonbridge

In the 19th century, Tonbridge was the biggest parish in Kent, with 15,378 acres to its name and a boundary that extended through Southborough as far as the Pantiles, but its origins date back to just after the Norman Conquest.

Richard de Fitzgilbert of Brionne in Normandy was given the lands around Tonbridge as reward for fighting with William of Hastings. He built the town’s first motte and bailey castle in 1068, and when that was burnt down, the keep was rebuilt in local yellow sandstone, with the bailey protected by a stone curtain wall.

The castle became a key factor in Tonbridge’s development and by 1100, it had become a busy settlement, further enhanced by the grant of a market in the 13th century. Agriculture, cloth making and iron working also flourished, and the castle continued to grow in size and influence.

Sadly, after the castle’s last military episode in the Civil War, Parliament ordered it to be dismantled. Its stones were used for buildings in the area, including the mansion (now the Tourist Information Centre) by the side of the gatehouse.

Focus shifted to the River Medway, which flows through the centre of town. When it was made navigable in 1740, after the Medway Navigation Company was founded, Tonbridge became the port for the upper reaches of the Medway, and an important trading centre.

Change of face
Boats carried gunpowder, iron and Wealden timber to the Royal Naval Docks at Chatham, returning laden with coal and lime – which changed the face of Tonbridge by introducing brick-making (hence Quarry Hill Road), as well as other trades such as tailoring and shoe-making.

Tonbridge was also famous for its cattle market, which became one of the most important in Kent following a grant made in 1671. A market was held at the old site near the Slade every week until 2003, but has since moved to a site opposite the station.

When the railway came in 1842, it took over much of the river’s trade. There were originally eight trains a day to London, via Redhill, the straighter Sevenoaks route not opening until 1868.

The railways caused a great expansion of the population, and increased demand for shops, trades and housing (nothing changes). This ranged from the cheap cottages between Barden Road and the Big Bridge, hastily constructed to house the hundreds of workers needed to dig out the railway tracks, to the substantial town houses along the Pembury Road, where names like Lavender Hill remind you how rural this area once was.

Today, excellent rail links are the reason why many residents first came to Tonbridge

Today, those excellent rail links are the reason why many residents first came to Tonbridge, and there are many reasons why so many of us have remained. Incidentally, Tonbridge was recently named as one of the wealthiest areas in the country, according to a ‘rich list’ of UK regions published last autumn by Barclay’s Bank.

The borough was placed 10th in England and Wales based on household income, with each home bringing in around £63,550 a year on average. Its supposedly better-heeled neighbours, Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells, came 20th and 36th respectively.

What to see and do

The 13th-century motte and bailey castle, is still a dominant feature. Bring history alive by taking the excellent one-hour audio tour, including interactive displays and life-size figures.

The historic quarter around the castle is the prettiest part of town, with its attractive timber-framed buildings and fine 18th-century houses. Look out for the 15th-century black-and-white-beamed Chequers Inn, the earliest recorded inn in Tonbridge.

The castle grounds are popular in the summer and it’s also the perfect setting for a varied programme of events that run throughout the year, including the popular May festival and carnival, summer band concerts, art exhibitions and fêtes.

Next to the castle is the old Racecourse Sportsground, a lovely ‘green lung’ right in the heart of town. Here, you can improve your tennis, or try your hand at the 18-hole putting green, crazy golf or bowls.

There’s a children’s play area with picnic tables. And at weekends in the summer, a much-loved miniature railway operates near the swimming pool, which boasts an indoor and outdoor pool, plus a health suite.

Although in a separate location, the pool is part of the Angel Leisure Centre (01732 359966), next to Beales, and offers sports and leisure facilities, as well as the town’s only ‘cinema’, with films shown in the Medway Hall.

The Angel (Tonbridge) indoor bowls centre (01732 771200) is a short hop away in Avenue du Puy. Open seven days a week, it offers six rinks, a restaurant and bar, plus an extensive match and league programme.

During the summer, you can hire rowing boats at the Big Bridge, or board the Caxton long boat for a leisurely cruise along the Medway. The local fishing club has rights over 14 miles of the river and seven lakes, but day tickets are available.

Tonbridge Farm sportsground serves the northern part of town and contains a multi-purpose, all-weather sports area that’s used for football, netball and cricket. For golf enthusiasts, Tonbridge Golf Centre (01732 353281) enjoys a central location just off Cannon Lane.

Haysden Country Park, to the south of town, opened as a country park in 1988, but the land was enjoyed by the public long before then. It includes two lakes – Tonbridge Town sailing club uses Haysden Water (01622 817127) and there’s fishing on Barden Lake (day tickets available, or contact Tonbridge & District Angling & Fish Preservation Society, 01732 359385).

You’ll also find a children’s play area here and the Heusenstammen Friendship Wood, named after Tonbridge’s twin town in Germany, which donated trees following the Great Storm of 1987.

Where to shop

Tonbridge has been a market town since the Earl of Gloucester was granted the right to hold a weekly market in 1259. The market was originally held in the High Street, but moved to a site in Bank Street in 1856 when the Tonbridge Stock and Cattle Market Company was formed.

The main shopping is in the High Street area, which has a number of independents, such as Gift Box (01732 354131) in Castle Street for jewellery, handbags and accessories, picture framer and pine furniture maker Arcadia (01732 353536) on Quarry Hill Road, John Angell, the jewellers, established in 1830, and record shop Bionic records in Botany. For local history enthusiasts, you can’t beat John Adams bookstore in Angel Walk.

Two covered arcades lead to the main town car parking serving Sainsbury’s, the Angel Centre and the Beales department store (01732 356983), which has a bit of everything, from fashion to toys and haberdashery. You can walk directly through to the supermarket next door, and shoppers pushing their food-laden trollies through Beales is a familiar, if slightly bizarre, spectacle.

Where to eat and drink

The choice in the High Street ranges from the renowned Alishan for modern Indian cuisine (01732 7760616) to The Grapevine wine bar (01732 353660) or the traditional offer at the Rose & Crown (01732 357966), with pizza, Thai and Chinese options in between.

Pubs and bars include the enormous Humphrey Bean (01732 773850), named after the landlord of the We Three Loggerheads pub, which stood on the site before it became the town’s principal post office, the revamped Castle with its Gold Bar (07880 852120) and riverside pub, The Wharf (01732 357506).

A bit of culture

Tonbridge Theatre and Arts Club performs throughout the year at The Oast Theatre (01732 363849), a converted 19th-century Kentish oast on the Tonbridge-Hildenborough border.

With a varied programme every month except August and September, plus two productions a year from the Oast Youth Group, not to mention a renowned wardrobe department (costumes available for hire), this is a deservedly popular local amenity.

The Oast also has its own Art Group, which holds two exhibitions each year.

Next production: On the Razzle, by Tom Stoppard, 29 Mar to 5 Apr.

For those who fancy something a little bit different, the long-established Medway School of Dancing (01732 358355) in the High Street offers classes in salsa, ballroom, Latin American and much more.

Excellent schools

The famous public school, Tonbridge School was founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd, Master of the Skinners’ Company as the first school in Tonbridge.

Other independents include Hilden Grange and The Schools at Somerhill (three schools on one site– Yardley Court, Derwent Lodge and Somerhill Pre-Prep).

The town boasts excellent grammar schools, all at the southern end of town: the girls-only Tonbridge Girls Grammar and the Weald of Kent Grammar, as well as Judd School for boys.

Looking to the future

Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council has entered into an informal partnership with Sainsbury’s to redevelop the Botany area of the town centre in an exciting plan that could see both the council-run Angel Centre and Sainsbury’s buildings torn down to make way for a new riverside attraction with restaurants, new stores and upmarket homes.

Sainsbury’s has extensive land interests in the area, which consists of the land lying between Angel Lane and Avenue du Puy on the south side of the Botany Stream and includes the area currently occupied by Sainsbury’s, Beales and the Angel Centre.

The supermarket giant, which has a long-term commitment to Tonbridge and is currently massively over-trading in the town, wants a brand new superstore, probably built next to the existing one on the Avenue du Puy side, while the council wants to re-provide and enhance all the leisure and community facilities currently in the Angel Centre.

We feel there is scope for some well-known retailing names in Tonbridge

As Steve Humphrey, director of planning, transport and leisure services, says: “There’s two deal breakers here – Sainsburys must have a store and we must have the re-provision of facilities provided by the Angel Centre; if either of those things can’t be delivered, we won’t have a scheme. It’s as dead simple as that.”

Both Sainsbury’s and the council want to encourage more retailing – approximately another 200 sq ft – and Sainsbury’s has not only engaged retail consultants to “drum up interest” with the hope of getting some key pre-lets, but has also appointed architects to carry the scheme forward.

“We feel there is scope for some well-know retailing names in Tonbridge,” adds Steve. “We are also keen to get a small-scale cinema into the town, an increased choice of places to eat and drink and a greater residential mix, particularly in the young professionals market”

The main aim of the project, which could commence at the end of 2009 if the all the criteria are met, is to ensure a comprehensive mixed-use redevelopment of the Botany area that will attract new retailers to add to the vitality of shopping in the town, improve public spaces (especially by the river) and help the overall regeneration of the town.

The council also wants to provide better links between the High Street and the revamped Botany that will encourage a better ‘flow’ of people, hampered at present by what is essentially a ‘one-street town.’

“We are looking to deliver a fantastic piece of regeneration for decades to come,” says Steve.

 

Useful numbers

Tourist Information Centre - 01732 770929

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - 01732 844522

West Kent College - 01732 358101

Tonbridge Civic Society

Email: info@tonbridgecivicsociety.org.uk

The Society has a folder of 14 walks in and around Tonbridge, £2.50, available at the Tourist Information Centre and John Adams Bookshop.

Getting there

By road: Tonbridge is just off the A21, halfway between London and the south coast and approximately 20 minutes from the M25 and the M20.

By rail: Tonbridge is on the main line service from London Charing Cross and Cannon Street, approximately 40 minutes away.

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