insideKENT Magazine Issue 53 - August 2016 | Page 118

TOWNSPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT
ON

Tunbridge Wells

Tunbridge Wells (or rather, Royal Tunbridge Wells) is a town that offers the
traveller a choice: London in one direction and the coast in the other. Both
can be equally tempting, although once the delights of Tunbridge Wells itself
have been experienced, anyone would be forgiven for wanting to put their
onward travels off for just a little while in order to stay there for longer.
Tunbridge Wells has a special kind of charm. BY LISAMARIE LAMB
© Chris Parker

HISTORY IN BRIEF
Archaeologists have always enjoyed working in
the Tunbridge Wells area because there is so
much there to – literally – uncover. Iron Age
settlements (including evidence in the shape of
an iron forge beneath Bayham Abbey) that the
Wealden iron industry had begun there, as well
as plenty of Roman artefacts and a defensive
fort from that period show quite how popular
Tunbridge Wells has been for millennia.

Dunorlan Park © Darryl Curcher

Of course, it is the wells themselves that make
the area famous today. And they were first noted
in 1606 when Dudley, Lord North (courtier to
James I), travelled to Eridge in the hopes that the
country air would improve his failing health. When
the air was seemingly doing nothing at all, and
Dudley was getting worse, he decided to go for
one last walk before returning to London to, we
have to presume, prepare for death. The poor
man took a drink from a spring he passed on his
stroll and immediately felt better. Another drink
and he was a new man! Word soon spread, and
within days nobles from London had travelled to
Kent to try the waters for themselves.

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There must have been something in it – by 1664
a spa retreat was doing great business there.
Not long after, shops, cafés, and other businesses
sprang up by the spring, and a town was born.

THINGS TO DO
Groombridge Place
If you want adventure, fascinating literary
connections, and beautiful surroundings,
Groombridge Place is ideal for you. Discover the
beautiful award-winning gardens and the forest
with its giant swings, zip wires, and
Crusoe’s World, and see where Pride and
Prejudice was filmed.
Assembly Hall Theatre
With the capacity to seat just over 1,000 people,
The Assembly Hall Theatre has long been the
central place for people to come together, enjoy
music, drama, dance, and much more (including
some fascinating talks).