52-552: High Brooms is a suburb of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent , England. Its railway station is High Brooms railway station . It is connected by train to London and Hastings . The suburb is located in the civil parish of Southborough . Between 1885 and 1968, the High Brooms Brick & Tile Company excavated clay in the area. [REDACTED] Media related to High Brooms at Wikimedia Commons This Kent location article
104-452: A chapel of ease for those visiting The Pantiles and was opened in 1676 after being constructed by Thomas Neale . It was dedicated to King Charles the Martyr : the cult of Charles I , who was executed in 1649 and whose son Charles II had been restored in 1660 . While it was a chapel of ease, it served the parishes of Frant , Speldhurst and Tonbridge . When it was built, the church
156-453: A fashionable resort in the mid-1700s under Beau Nash when the Pantiles , and its chalybeate spring, attracted visitors who wished to take the waters. Though its popularity as a spa town waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town still derives much of its income from tourism. The town has a population of around 56,500, and is the administrative centre of Tunbridge Wells Borough and in
208-566: A more frequent service and to allow restricted types of London trains starting or terminating at Tunbridge Wells to be operated in 12-car formations. Previously such services were 11-car at most. Average daily passenger flows on trains between Tunbridge Wells and London have increased from about 10,000 in 1999 to over 12,500 in 2008, a compound growth rate of about 2.5% per year. Average daily passenger flows between Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks, and between Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge, have grown considerably faster, though are still much smaller than
260-494: A plural form, it refers to the principal source, the chalybeate spring in the Pantiles (where the waters were taken). Tunbridge Wells is the administrative centre for both Tunbridge Wells Borough and the parliamentary constituency of Tunbridge Wells . The Borough is governed by 48 Councillors , representing 20 wards (eight wards fall within the town of Tunbridge Wells itself). Elections are held for 16 Council seats each year on
312-531: A restaurant, and a Sainsbury's supermarket occupies the former goods yard. Part of the line was reopened in 1996 by the Tunbridge Wells and Eridge Railway Preservation Society, which now—as the Spa Valley Railway —operates a steam heritage railway that runs from Tunbridge Wells West to Eridge via High Rocks and Groombridge . The western end of the service was extended from Groombridge to Eridge, on
364-416: A rotational basis, with elections to Kent County Council taking place in the fourth year of the cycle. Each councillor serves a four-year term. Councillors meet regularly at Tunbridge Wells Town Hall . Tunbridge Wells local elections show a pattern since 1973 of Conservative party dominance, apart from a two-year period from 1994 to 1996 of no overall control and a two-year period from 1996 to 1998 when
416-454: A spa retreat. By 1636 it had become so popular that two houses were built next to the spring to cater for the visitors, one for the ladies and one for the gentlemen, and in 1664 Lord Muskerry , Lord of the Manor, enclosed it with a triangular stone wall, and built a hall "to shelter the dippers in wet weather." Until 1676 little permanent building took place—visitors were obliged either to camp on
468-460: A treatment for diseases of the glands, fashions in leisure changed and sea bathing became more popular than visiting the spas, which resulted in fewer visitors coming to the town. Nevertheless, the advent of turnpike roads gave Tunbridge Wells better communications—on weekdays a public coach made nine return journeys between Tunbridge Wells and London, and postal services operated every morning except Monday and every evening except Saturday. During
520-574: A young age. Church of King Charles the Martyr, Royal Tunbridge Wells The Church of King Charles the Martyr is a Church of England parish church in Royal Tunbridge Wells , Kent , England. It is a Grade I listed building . In the 1670s, Tunbridge Wells had few permanent structures when it started to receive visits from members of the English Royal Family . The church was built on land belonging to Viscountess Purbeck as
572-517: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent , England , 30 miles (50 kilometres) southeast of central London . It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald , whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks . The town was a spa in the Restoration and
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#1732848691048624-481: Is just by the wells and is furnished with great plenty of all sorts of fish and fowl. The walk which is between high trees on the market side which are shops full of all sorts of toys, silver, china, milliners and all sorts of curious wooden ware besides which there are two large coffee houses for tea, chocolate etc. and two rooms for the lottery and hazard board (i.e. for gambling)."— Celia Fiennes , 1697 Following Richard Russell's 1750 treatise advocating sea water as
676-535: Is on the Kentish border with East Sussex , about 31 miles (50 kilometres) south of London; the original centre of the settlement lies directly on the Kent/East Sussex border, as recalled by the county boundary flagstone that still lies outside the church of King Charles the Martyr. The town is at the northern edge of the High Weald , a ridge of hard sandstone that runs across southern England from Hampshire along
728-399: Is predominantly White and British in its ethnic origin and Christian in its religious affiliation: 97.5% of residents of the district described themselves as white in the 2001 census , and 75.0% identified themselves as being Christian. The statistics for crime in Tunbridge Wells show that in 2005/6 there were fewer crimes occurring in the area than the national average. Tunbridge Wells
780-461: Is the home of Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club . Tunbridge Wells came into the cricketing spotlight during the 1983 Cricket World Cup when Kapil Dev of India made a then world record score of 175 not out against Zimbabwe . Dev and Syed Kirmani had an unbroken partnership of 126 that is the second highest partnership for the 9th wicket in a one-day international. Linden Park Cricket Club , which plays in local leagues, hosts its home matches at
832-632: The A264 , which runs from Five Oaks to Pembury (via Crawley and East Grinstead ); and the A267 , which runs south from Tunbridge Wells to Hailsham . The A21 passes to the east of the town, following the route of its turnpike ancestor, from London to Hastings . Bus services are operated chiefly by Arriva Kent & Sussex , providing local town and rural services to Tonbridge , Paddock Wood and Sevenoaks , as well as express services to locations such as Bromley and Maidstone . Eastbourne and Brighton on
884-728: The Higher Cricket Ground on Tunbridge Wells Common. Tunbridge Wells Hockey Club is a field hockey club that is based at the Nevill Ground, and competes in the Men's England Hockey League and the South East Hockey League . The RTW Monson Swimming Club competes in swimming , diving and water polo and is based at the Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre. Former Monson member Joanne Rout , née Round, took part in
936-582: The Liberal Democrats held a majority. By 2008, the Conservatives had a large majority with 44 seats compared with the Liberal Democrats' four. The extent of the Conservatives' dominance is further illustrated by the fact that in some wards (e.g. Park) Labour did not even field a candidate in the 2008 council elections. By 2019, the local political situation had changed. In the 2019 local elections,
988-560: The London-Uckfield line of Southern Railway , on 25 March 2011, serving a platform at Eridge which had been disused for many years. The tunnelled link line between the West and erstwhile Central stations, opened in 1876, remains closed. In 2009 Network Rail installed a 12-car turnback siding just south of Tunbridge Wells station between the Grove Hill and Strawberry Hill tunnels to facilitate
1040-561: The River Teise , which originates in Tunbridge Wells, the stream in the valley is one of the many tributaries of the River Medway , which runs through a much larger valley north of the High Weald. The Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation geological unit takes its name from the town. Nearby villages have been subsumed into the built-up area of the town, so that now it incorporates High Brooms to
1092-463: The Wealden iron industry until its demise in the late eighteenth century. An iron forge remains in the grounds of Bayham Abbey , in use until 1575 and documented until 1714. The area which is now Tunbridge Wells was part of the parish of Speldhurst for hundreds of years. The origin of the town today came in the seventeenth century. In 1606 Dudley North, 3rd Baron North , a courtier to James I who
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#17328486910481144-501: The downs or to find lodgings at Southborough —, but at this time houses and shops were erected on the walks, and every "convenient situation near the springs" was built upon. Also in 1676 a subscription for a " chapel of ease" was opened, and in 1684 the Church of King Charles the Martyr was duly built and the town began to develop around it. In 1787 Edward Hasted described the new town as consisting of four small districts, "named after
1196-526: The Conservative majority was cut to 8, and the council leader David Jukes lost his seat following months of controversy over the council's plan to borrow £90 million in order to build new council offices, a new 1200-seat theatre, and underground car parking in Calverley Grounds. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tunbridge Wells is Liberal Democrat Mike Martin , whose majority at the 2024 election
1248-653: The average annual coldest night minimum of −8.3 °C (17.1 °F). In total 52.8 nights should report an air frost. Annual rainfall averages in Goudhurst 823.3 mm (32.41 in), with over 1 mm (0 in) falling on 120.7 days. As of 2002 there were around 50,000 people employed in the borough of Tunbridge Wells. The largest sector of the local economy consists of hotels, restaurants, and retail (the centrally located Royal Victoria Place shopping centre , opened in 1992, covers 29,414 square metres (316,610 sq ft), which accounts for around 30% of all jobs;
1300-500: The borders of Surrey , West Sussex , East Sussex and Kent —the town's geology is illustrated by the exposed sandstone outcrops at the Wellington Rocks and High Rocks (a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its exposed gulls ), and the quarries at nearby Langton Green from which sandstone was taken to build houses in Tunbridge Wells. The town is sited at the head of a valley that runs south-east to Groombridge ; like
1352-538: The company usually residing at Tunbridge town, when they came into these parts for the benefit of drinking the waters —Edward Hasted, 1797 The prefix " Royal " dates to 1909, when King Edward VII granted the town its official "Royal" title to celebrate its popularity over the years among members of the royal family . Tunbridge Wells is one of only three towns in England to have been granted this (the others being Leamington Spa and Wootton Bassett ). Although "Wells" has
1404-481: The eighteenth century the growth of the town continued, as did its patronage by the wealthy leisured classes—it received celebrity cachet from visits by figures such as Cibber , Johnson , Garrick , Richardson and the successful bookseller Andrew Millar and his wife —and in 1735 Beau Nash appointed himself as master of ceremonies for all the entertainments that Tunbridge Wells had to offer. He remained in this position until his death in 1762, and under his patronage
1456-464: The finance and business sector makes up just under a quarter of jobs, as does the public administration, education and health sector. Tunbridge Wells is arguably the most important retail centre between London and Hastings. The largest single employer in the town used to be the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust , at the Kent and Sussex and Tunbridge Wells Hospitals, employing around 2500 people;
1508-460: The first time. The three previous MPs were Sir Patrick Mayhew (1974–1997), the former Asda chairman Archie Norman (1997–2005) and the former Levelling Up Secretary, Greg Clark (2005-2024) In 2006 the town of Tunbridge Wells was estimated to have a population of approximately 56,500. The wider borough of Tunbridge Wells is home to considerably more people—some 104,000 in 2001, up from around 99,500 in 1991. The population of Tunbridge Wells
1560-566: The flows between Tunbridge Wells and London. Kent County Council is one of fifteen local authorities in the UK that still provides selective education through the eleven plus exam . Tunbridge Wells does not have a university of its own, but the Salomons Campus of Canterbury Christ Church University is located just outside the town (near Southborough ) and provides postgraduate programmes. Tunbridge Wells' football team, Tunbridge Wells F.C. ,
1612-556: The hills on which they stand, Mount Ephraim, Mount Pleasant and Mount Sion; the other is called the Wells..." The 1680s saw a building boom in the town: carefully planned shops were built beside the 175-yard-long (160-metre) Pantiles promenade (then known as the Walks), and the Mount Sion road, on which lodging house keepers were to build, was laid out in small plots. Tradesmen in the town dealt in
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1664-530: The largest single commercial employer was AXA PPP healthcare , employing around 1,700 in four offices (PPP House, Union House, Phillips House and International House). Tunbridge Wells had a relatively low unemployment rate of around 1.0% in August 2008, compared to a UK national rate of around 5.4%. Tunbridge Wells is at the hub of a series of roads, the primary ones being the A26 , which runs from Maidstone to Newhaven ;
1716-399: The luxury goods demanded by their patrons, which would certainly have included Tunbridge ware , a kind of decoratively inlaid woodwork. "They have made the wells very commodious by the many good building all about it and two or three miles [three or five kilometres] around which are lodgings for the company that drink the waters. All the people buy their own provisions at the market, which
1768-460: The north, Hawkenbury to the south, and Rusthall (whose name resonates with the iron content of the rocks) to the west. Tunbridge Wells is twinned with Wiesbaden , Germany. In 1960, through an advertisement in the national press, contact was made between former paratroopers in Wiesbaden and four English ex-servicemen in Tunbridge Wells. Through this contact the friendship that now exists between
1820-403: The parliamentary constituency of Tunbridge Wells . Evidence suggests that Iron Age people farmed the fields and mined the iron-rich rocks in the Tunbridge Wells area, and excavations in 1940 and 1957–61 by James Money at High Rocks uncovered the remains of a defensive hill-fort . It is thought that the site was occupied into the era of Roman Britain , and the area continued to be part of
1872-457: The south coast are accessible on services run by Stagecoach in Eastbourne and Brighton & Hove respectively, and Metrobus operates hourly services to Crawley . Tunbridge Wells town historically had three railway stations: two of these are still in use by National Rail services. Tunbridge Wells station is, as its former name of Tunbridge Wells Central suggests, centrally located within
1924-525: The swimming events at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, aged just 12, winning two relay gold medals (also setting two new world records) and three individual silver medals; and as of 2012 remains the youngest-ever British Paralympian. A plaque can be found located in the club's trophy display. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council honoured Joanne Rout with the award of their Civic Medallion after her return from Seoul in recognition of her efforts and achievements at such
1976-444: The town also received 150 Belgian refugees. The Second World War affected Tunbridge Wells in a different way—it became so swollen with refugees from London that accommodation was severely strained. Over 3,800 buildings were damaged by bombing, but only 15 people lost their lives. Following the war, large-scale housing estates were built at Sherwood and Ramslye to accommodate population growth. Edward Hasted asserted that although
2028-526: The town and the provision of facilities such as gas lighting and a police service meant that by 1837 the town population had swelled to 9,100. In 1842 an omnibus service was set up that ran from Tonbridge to Tunbridge Wells, enabling visitors to arrive from London within two hours, and in 1845 the town was linked to the railway network via a branch from South Eastern Railway's London-Hastings Hastings Line at Tonbridge . During this time Decimus Burton developed John Ward's Calverley Park estate. In 1889
2080-741: The town at the end of the High Street, whilst High Brooms station is situated in High Brooms, to the north of the town. Both stations are located on the double-tracked electrified Hastings Line ; services are operated by the Southeastern train operating company . Tunbridge Wells West station was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1866 as the terminus of its competing line to Tunbridge Wells, but closed in 1985 along with that line. The station building—a Grade II listed building —is now
2132-426: The town centre. The absolute maximum temperature in Goudhurst stands at 34.7 °C (94.5 °F), recorded in August 1990, compared to the average annual warmest day maximum of 28.7 °C (83.7 °F). In total, 11.8 days should attain a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above. The absolute minimum temperature recorded in Goudhurst was −19.2 °C (−2.6 °F) during January 1940, compared to
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2184-548: The town reached the height of its popularity as a fashionable resort. By the early nineteenth century Tunbridge Wells experienced growth as a place for the well-to-do to visit and make their homes. It became a fashionable resort town again following visits by the Duchess of Kent , Queen Victoria and Prince Albert , and benefited from a new estate on Mount Pleasant and the building of the Trinity church in 1827, and improvements made to
2236-547: The town was awarded the status of a Borough, and it entered the 20th century in a prosperous state. 1902 saw the opening of an Opera House , and in 1909 the town received its "Royal" prefix. Due to its position in South East England, during the First World War Tunbridge Wells was made a headquarters for the army, and its hospitals were used to treat soldiers who had been sent home with a " blighty wound ";
2288-469: The two towns sprang up, leading to the signing in 1989 of the official Twinning Charter. Also through this the Tunbridge Wells Twinning and Friendship Association (TWTFA) was formed. Tunbridge Wells, like the rest of Britain, has a temperate maritime climate, lacking in weather extremes. The nearest official weather station is Goudhurst , about 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi (14 km) east of
2340-509: The wells were originally named the "Queen's-Wells", they soon took on the name of Tunbridge Wells due to their proximity to the town of Tonbridge (known as "Tunbridge" until 1870): In compliment to [queen Henrietta Maria's] doctor, Lewis Rowzee, in his treatise on them, calls these springs the Queen's-wells; but this name lasted but a small time, and they were soon afterwards universally known by that of Tunbridge-wells, which names they acquired from
2392-553: The year at circuits such as Lydden Hill and Goodwood. Tunbridge Wells RFC plays its home games at St Mark's, and plays London & South East Premier Rugby at RFU level 5. Weald Warriors RLFC are a Rugby League team based in the town, at St Mark's. The Warriors were founded in 2012 and currently compete in the 4th tier of English rugby league in the London & South East Men's League . The Nevill Ground hosts county and international cricket , and Kent County Cricket Club uses it regularly as one of its outgrounds. It
2444-399: The young Queen Victoria with her mother the Duchess of Kent , and a plaque was installed to commemorate this on the pew they sat in. The church was built using red bricks. The ceilings inside are made of plaster with five domes and were designed in 1678 by John Wetherell. In 1688, Henry Doogood, the chief plasterer of Sir Christopher Wren , expanded it. In 1846, a vestry and a schoolroom
2496-472: Was 8,687. In September 2019, Former MP Greg Clark was one of 21 Conservative MPs to have the whip removed, after failing to back the Government, in keeping the option of a No-deal Brexit on the negotiating table. The constituency has been mostly Conservative since its inception in 1974 for the 1974 General Election ; electing a Conservative every election until 2024 when they elected a Liberal Democrat for
2548-510: Was added. In 1882, Ewan Christian re-orientated the church while adding a chancel and reinforcing the church with steel. The panels either side of the altar in the new chancel came from a demolished church designed by Christopher Wren, St. Antholin, Budge Row , in the City of London . Outside the church is a stone set into the pavement which marked the parish boundaries of Speldhurst , Tonbridge and Frant , and also of Kent and Sussex before
2600-643: Was formed in 1886 and plays in the Southern Counties East Football League at the Culverden Stadium , and has a history that stretches back to 1886. The team were runners up in the 2013 FA Vase final at Wembley Stadium , losing 2–1 to Spennymoor Town . Tunbridge Wells Motor Club is one of the oldest motor clubs in the UK, being founded in 1911. It is still active in the Tunbridge Wells area promoting grass roots motorsport organising an autotest series and several sprint races throughout
2652-518: Was staying at a hunting lodge in Eridge in the hope that the country air might improve his ailing constitution, discovered a chalybeate spring. He drank from the spring and, when his health improved, he became convinced that it had healing properties. He persuaded his rich friends in London to try it, and by the time Queen Henrietta Maria , wife of King Charles I , visited in 1630 it had established itself as
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#17328486910482704-441: Was the first substantial building constructed in Tunbridge Wells. The church had no resident vicar until 1709, and relied on visiting clergymen to conduct services. As Tunbridge Wells expanded, so did the church. After new parishes were created for the expanding town, the position of the chapel became an anomaly and it eventually became itself a parish church in 1889, but with an unusually small parochial area. It had been visited by
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