insideKENT Magazine Issue 56 - November 2016 | Page 117

TOWNSPOTLIGHT

S P OT L I G H T

O N

TENTERDEN

BY LISAMARIE LAMB

The Kentish Weald is well known for many things: its views, its stately homes and castles, its
produce, its people, its villages, its towns… and one of the most quintessentially Wealden (and
Kentish, and British) towns of all has to be Tenterden. It is even nicknamed ‘the jewel of the
Weald’ because of its picturesque high street and its historic houses. But even though Tenterden
is very proud of its past, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a 21st-century town.

History in Brief
The name Tenterden didn’t exist until the 14th
century. Before that, the areas we now know
as Tenterden was called Heronden, and its
most famous product and export was wool.
The name change isn’t the only thing that is
different now – Tenterden is a landlocked town
these days, but it wasn’t always the case;
Tenterden used to be on the coast, and ships
used to dock at Smallhythe. Due to this, apart
from wool, Tenterden was also known for ship
building, and many of the ships that sailed out
to sea from Kent were made using Wealden
timber. This ability to make ships, and its handy
location, meant that Tenterden was named one
of the famous Cinque Ports in 1449.

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