19-491: Horsmonden ( / ˈ h ɔːr z m ə n ˌ d ɛ n / HORZ -mən- DEN ) is a village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent , England. The village is located in the Weald of Kent. It is situated on a road leading from Maidstone to Lamberhurst , three miles north of the latter place. The nearest railway station is Paddock Wood . The village's name is derived from
38-539: A 296 which goes to Tunbridge Wells from Paddock Wood operated by Arriva. There are also two school bus services (the 268 and the 267) operated by Hams Travel. Horsmonden Cricket Club dates back to 1738. The team is first recorded in July 1738, playing against Chislehurst Cricket Club on Chislehurst Common . A return match took place at an unspecified venue in Horsmonden on Friday, 21 July 1738. The club retained prominence into
57-532: A third of the council being elected each time for a four year term of office. Kent County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections. In the 2016 European Union referendum, Tunbridge Wells was the only district in Kent that voted to remain in the EU (54.89%). The council is based at Tunbridge Wells Town Hall on Mount Pleasant Road, which had been completed in 1941 for
76-513: A third tier of local government. The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since the 2024 election . The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Tunbridge Wells. Political leadership
95-414: Is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1998 have been: Following the 2024 election , the composition of the council was: The next elections are due in 2026. Since the last boundary changes in 2024 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 14 wards , with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with
114-709: Is the southern terminus of the Medway Valley Line to Maidstone . The BBC has its regional centre at the Great Hall on Mount Pleasant Road in Royal Tunbridge Wells . It is the base of BBC Radio Kent and for BBC South East regional programmes, the complex contains studios and offices. ITV Meridian also covers the area but broadcast from its studios in Whiteley in Hampshire . Other radio stations that broadcast to
133-452: The Anglo Saxon hors meaning 'horse', bune ('reed') or burna ('stream') and denn , a Kentish word meaning 'wooded pasture'. The village is first recorded as Horsbundenne around the turn of the twelfth century. The village was an important centre of the post-medieval iron industry and the nearby Furnace Pond is one of the largest of the artificial lakes made to provide water power for
152-521: The National Gardens Scheme . When the branch railway line to Hawkhurst was operating, there was a railway station for the village. However Horsmonden railway station closed in 1961. The station site is now used as a garage called "Old Station Garage" and the stationmaster's house is now a private residence. Today the only public transport for Horsmonden is the 297 bus route previously operated by Renown, but now operated by Hams Travel and
171-416: The chalybeate springs, together with old workings, point to ancient iron manufacturing in the area. The Weald Clay plain along the northern edge of the borough forms part of the so-called Garden of England , named for its extensive orchards and former hop farms, sheep and cattle. A string of villages lies across this plain, from Brenchley and Horsmonden to Benenden and Headcorn. The main roads through
190-452: The 1740s. The club today is home to six cricket teams: two men's sides and four youth sides. Borough of Tunbridge Wells The Borough of Tunbridge Wells is a local government district with borough status in Kent , England. It takes its name from its main town, Royal Tunbridge Wells . The borough also contains the towns of Paddock Wood and Southborough , along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Large parts of
209-540: The Royal prefix. The district was not initially granted borough status. The council resolved to petition for it in June 1974 and a borough charter was received on 20 December 1974, allowing the chair of the council to take the title mayor. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council . Much of the borough is also covered by civil parishes , which form
SECTION 10
#1732869984143228-499: The area are Heart South , Gold , and community based radio stations: KMFM West Kent and West Kent Radio. The area is served by the local newspaper, Kent and Sussex Courier . Apart from Tunbridge Wells itself, places of interest in the Borough include: 51°07′44″N 0°15′39″E / 51.12889°N 0.26083°E / 51.12889; 0.26083 Sevenoaks District Too Many Requests If you report this error to
247-592: The borough are the A21 London to Hastings road and in the east, the A229, which runs from the A21 at Hurst Green through Cranbrook to Maidstone . There is a railway line across the clay plain in an almost unbroken straight line between Redhill , Tonbridge and Ashford, Kent . The SER line to Hastings passes through Tunbridge Wells; here there was once a further branch connection south-eastwards to Groombridge , and at Paddock Wood
266-523: The borough fall within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The neighbouring districts are Sevenoaks , Tonbridge and Malling , Maidstone , Ashford , Rother and Wealden . The town of Tunbridge Wells had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1835. The commissioners' district was reconstituted as a local government district in 1860, which in turn became a municipal borough in 1889. That first borough of Tunbridge Wells
285-399: The family's graves can be seen in the churchyard of St. Margaret's Church. There is a Pavee horse fair held on the village green each year. In 2000, the local parish council with assistance of the then-Home Secretary Jack Straw , ruled that due to ongoing safety concerns, the fair would not go ahead and a 5-mile exclusion zone was put in place. However, due to protests and legal action from
304-513: The old Royal Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. The borough of Tunbridge Wells lies along the south western border of Kent, partly on the northern edge of the Weald , the remainder on the Weald Clay plain in the upper reaches of the rivers Teise and Beult . Much of the borough lies within the High Weald, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The presence of sandstone outcrops and
323-431: The wider Pavee community, this decision was overturned and the fairs resumed following a compromise between the travellers and the local authorities in 2001. St Margaret's Church is located some distance away from the centre of the village, towards the neighbouring village of Goudhurst . Just outside the village is the 16th-century National Trust property Sprivers, which has an open garden at specific dates as part of
342-550: The works. King Charles I visited the foundry in 1638 to watch a cannon being cast – a bronze four-pounder, forty-two inches long, now preserved in London's White Tower . The village was home to Jane Austen 's grandfather who lived at Broadford, a 15th-century clothmaster's hall, and several other of her relatives. The main Austen residence moved from Broadford to Capel Manor House which was constructed in 1860 but demolished in 1966. Many of
361-463: Was renamed "Royal Tunbridge Wells" in 1909 following a petition from the borough council to Edward VII . The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering the whole area of three former districts and parts of a fourth, which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named Tunbridge Wells after the area's largest town, but without
#142857