June 1959 - June 2009 Fifty Years On
Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society Newsletter The Society’s 50th Birthday Party. See page 8.
In this Camden Road - the Musical. See page 14. Issue:
Memories of the Second World War. See page 18.
A heritage centre in Sheerness (p 21) and a rather tenuous connection with the West Indies (p22).
2Front cover: Civic Society’s 50th Birthday - the cake. www.thecivicsociety.org Contents
Personally Speaking ... 4
From the Planning Scrutineers by Gill Twells ... 5
Chairman’s Letter by Alastair Tod ... 6
50th Birthday Party ... 8 The Fall and Rise(?) of the Civic Trust ... 11 Roger Joye explains the current situation. Proud to be Different ... 12 The Vanishing Elephant ... 14 The Camden Road Musical. Tunbridge Wells Horticultural Fete of 1859 ... 16 Mike Hinton describes a royal event. War and Peace in Tunbridge Wells ... 18 Preview of a new book by Ann Bates. Local History Group News ... 20 Yet another anniversary ... 22 June 1939 this time. Heritage Open Days 2009 ... 23 Forthcoming Events ... 24
Editor: Chris Jones. email [email protected]
Secretary: Mrs Pauline Everett. email [email protected] Newsletter Summer 2009 3 Personally Speaking
by Chris Jones
Cake ... There are some people who are always the last to leave a party, who just cannot take the hint when the hosts get out their hot-water bottles and start talking about Horlicks. Sometimes it’s quite a good policy. At the Society’s birthday party we had a cake (see front cover). The story somehow got about that it was ‘for cutting, not for eating’, so most people left without tasting it. But the last half-dozen of us, determined to party on, challenged the statement and found that the cake was not only ‘for eating’, but really quite delicious - chocolate brownie with lemony icing. I had four pieces. Well somebody had to. Column ... It’s called ‘Personally Speaking’ to make it clear that I am not necessarily presenting the Society’s official viewpoint here. That’s meant to allow me to be a little outrageous at times, perhaps to goad you into responding. But what is there to be annoyed about at present? Prince Charles’ interference in the Chelsea Barracks planning application? Well I don’t generally think he should be using his influence to sway planning decisions though I can sympathise with his views on the architecture. But in this case by lobbying the owners/ developers, he doesn’t seem to have over-stepped any constitutional boundaries. It has no doubt infuriated Lord Rogers, but I cannot believe that Lord Rogers himself hasn’t lobbied in the past. What is annoying at present is our own Council’s decision to close the Town Hall to the general public. In one simple, deliberate act they have created a dead space in the very heart of the town. Old Newsletters ... We send a copy of our Newsletter to the Centre for Kentish Studies in Maidstone - the official archive for this part of Kent. They contacted us recently saying that they were planning to bind the copies, and asking whether we had spare copies to fill the gaps in their collection. We have arranged to do this, but have found that they would also be interested in earlier issues - their collection only goes back to 1986. I have a fairly complete set back to April 1976, with a patchy collection from the early 1970s - if anybody has any that are earlier than 1976 then do please let me know. CKS are happy to take photocopies of the earlier ones, so you would not have to give up your originals. Thanks. CJ
4 www.thecivicsociety.org From the Planning Scrutineers by Gill Twells
Recent decisions have been made on the following proposals : - Refused - The large new block of flats on the site of the existing Dunorlan House Withdrawn - The scheme for major additions to Spencer Mews (off Camden Road) Approved - 83a Mt Ephraim, replacement house with mansard roof. Approved - Beacon Hotel - both the extension to the building and the improvements to the south car park Refused - Skinners School new sports hall Approved - 3 Cumberland Walk - now called The Old School House, at the corner of the stair from Chapel Place. After the refusal of a first application for the restoration of original windows, the second application has been approved. The proposed redevelopment of the Medway Depot site (extending beneath the Grosvenor Bridge), with new housing which includes a large amount of “affordable housing” - has been revised and resubmitted. It seems that no local Housing Association has been able to raise the necessary funding. We have not yet scrutinised the new application. Proposed extensions to Pomander Cottage in Hungershall Park look very appropriate and we look forward to hearing that they have been approved. A little reminder: James Burton started to build the new town of St. Leonards, just 23 miles from Tunbridge Wells and 1 mile from Hastings, at exactly the same time that his son, Decimus, was building our own Calverley New Town. Did they compare notes? It seems highly likely. Come and see for yourself. RTWCS is visiting the Burtons’ St. Leonards Society on Saturday 15th August and they are very kindly giving us a lecture and a tour. Ring Gill Twells on 01892 527493 for details. Places are limited to 25 people, so book asap. JC Newsletter Summer 2009 5 Chairman’s Letter Scene: breakfast at a hotel in a county town in another part of England. Year: the early eighties. At the next table three young men in suits down from Whitehall on inspection. Quote, sadly: ‘Whatever we say they won’t do what we want‘. Times have changed. Nowadays it seems councils do what Whitehall wants (and get rated Excellent for doing it exactly). The attempt to standardise what councils do results in about 200 targets and performance standards, as well as the new procedure for planning the future, the Local Development Framework (LDF), and other policy statements. The complexity of the system is amazing. One Tunbridge Wells document, the Strategic Plan, derives from seven other sets of policy documents, including a ‘vision‘ for 2026, some with subordinate delivery plans. It includes a ‘Green Action Plan‘ with targets for tasks such as maintaining the street scene. Among improvement targets in the Confident Action Plan (sic) one requires no more than 13% of people to be ‘concerned about anti-social behaviour‘. This reflects the idea that nothing is real unless it can be measured and every job must be quantified. But it also confuses the more or less routine with policy choices, and increasingly reduces local democracy to a range of services comparable to those of a post office. In contrast to the rhetoric of participation, ‘customers‘ get what they need across a counter, whether bin emptying, a library book or a housing tenancy. Fortunately no-one seems very happy about this (except no doubt the three young men, now possibly very senior). The Government promised in a 2006 White Paper in Tony Blair’s words to ‘give people a bigger say over the services they receive and the places where they live‘. But the review of development control has since tilted further towards treating this as a service to developers, making land available for building. The combination of direction from above and the complexity of the processes take the dialogue out of local government; they demoralise councils and tend to disenfranchise voters. They prevent councillors taking important decisions, and deny local people a role in deciding on development, whether and when, not just how. Now a Conservative Green Paper promises more freedom to councils and steps to restore their confidence, including removing restrictions on the role of councillors. Greg Clark MP invited the Society to respond to this and we have done so, welcoming the approach and trying not to be too sceptical about the prospects for turning back the tide in the short term. These misgivings are topical as we prepare to respond to major changes. 6 www.thecivicsociety.org The Core Strategy of the LDF has now arrived, the final version of a document we commented on last year, with nine policies relating to Royal Tunbridge Wells. We were glad to see some of our doubts about the earlier version had been met, but we still wonder how far it expresses real priorities for policy, as opposed to bland aspirations equally appropriate to other places. The Society has published a position paper on the town centre, and has now replied to a questionnaire (this and other papers from the Society referred to can be found on our website). We expressed strong wishes for better access and more space for cyclists and pedestrians, and an improved public realm, as well as views on the location of increases in shopping and the protection of residential streets. We trust this and other expressions of public opinion will influence the proposals for the town centre from the Council’s partnership with Laing’s, expected in October/November. The other document in this trio of heavyweights was the housing land survey SHLAA itemising all the sites in the borough identified as possible housing sites up to 2026. The basis was that anyone could name a site, without owning it and without knowing the owner’s intentions. The Council evaluated the entries in the resulting very large compendium, with an assessment of when they might be developed. They concluded from this that there would be no difficulty finding land in Tunbridge Wells for the 6,000 dwellings required. The Society has not commented on the method or the results of the SHLAA, which relate to such a long period in a highly unstable situation that we feel any conclusion, favourable or otherwise, would be unwise. But we note that in future some of the Council’s funding will depend on delivering housing land in line with the SHLAA. In so much paper planning and distant horizons it was welcome news that the Council is taking forward the idea of regulating front-garden parking, on which we presented a case with the Town Forum. This is usually treated as Permitted Development falling outside planning control, and yet can be highly problematic in some areas. We have pressed the Council to produce guidance for those wanting to adapt front gardens, and to bring it under control, at least in the conservation areas, as they can do. We now hope other changes with a cumulative impact which also creep below the radar – such as plastic windows and solar panels, on which we have also reported to the Council – will receive the same attention. In our environment the handling of small changes needs as much care as grand policy statements, and better expresses a sense of local identity. Newsletter Summer 2009 Alastair 7 Civic 50thBirth
The Civic Society was born on 17th June 1959, in the drawing room of 4 St James Road (left), the home of Walter and Rosemary Coltham. The meeting had been called to discuss plans for the improvement of Monson Road, and this became the new organisation’s first project. It was originally called the ‘59 Society’, at least partly to distance it from the earlier Civic Association which had disbanded the previous year. The name ‘Civic Society’ was not adopted for another ten years. 4 St James Road, where the One of the founder members, indeed Society was founded the first Secretary, was Dr Philip Whitbourn, who is still tirelessly working for the good of the town. Philip played a leading role in the birthday celebrations on 17th June this year. 1980s proposal for a huge He first led a select group on a Town Walk roundabout outside Dunorlan, - Monson, Calverley, Lansdowne and Crescent which the Society opposed Roads - to look at some of the buildings that were saved as a result of the Society’s campaigns, and to remember some that were not. He then presented a talk at Trinity to summarise the activities of the Society over its first fifty years. There was the campaign against the council’s ‘Town Map’ in the 1960’s which would have destroyed much of the charm of Camden Road; and the battle against theRing Road proposals in 1970. These envisaged a giratory system through the centre of the upper town with a new road cutting from Victoria Road to the middle of Lansdowne. 8 www.thecivicsociety.org Society day Party
This would have meant the demolition of one house (right) and the blighting of most of the others. The late 1970’s saw the long fight to save Trinity from demolition. It was appropriate that we should hold the birthday celebration at Trinity, and thus contribute to its funds at a time when its grant has been The house in Lansdowne Road slashed. which would have been demolished for the 1970 Ring Road The environment in which the Society operates has changed tremendously since 1959. There were no conservation areas then, and planning applications were considered in secret. Things are better now, Gill Twells cutting the birthday cake. but we need to be vigilant. The current Philip Whitbourn in the background government is keen to simplify planning rules for the benefit of developers. After the talk there was a presentation to Gill Twells in recognition of all her hard work over what must be nearly forty five years. And then tea and cakes. It was good to see so many past members: Harold Blakey, one-time treasurer; Ian Burn; Pat Harbour; Margaret and Richard Steward, who organised outings for members; and others shown in the pictures overleaf. We must thank Pauline Everett for all her hard work in organising the celebrations.Those who were not present may wish to read Philip’s talk in an illustrated booklet, which will be available, price £1, at future meetings. Newsletter Summer 2009 9 Pauline Everett, with John and Kate Minnis, who came down from their new home in Downham Market.
Norman Collings and Andrew Bridge
Vera Coomber, Brenda Hopkin, and Jane Clark
Ron Burch with Gill Twells
Janina Story and David Wright
10 www.thecivicsociety.org The Fall and Rise(?) of the Civic Trust Roger Joye explains the current situation Most members will be aware that offers of help from professional our national umbrella organisation, The bodies, local authorities, voluntary and Civic Trust, was placed into charitable organisations and others. administration in April, following Along with more than 500 other civic severe pressure on its financial societies, RTWCS has asked to be kept position. It lost its major income- in touch with future arrangements. producing Green Flag contract last Three things are considered summer, and, despite restructuring and essential: a fundraising appeal to its membership, • the civic society movement needs it became clear that it could not an independent champion continue. Severe funding constraints • the voice of individual societies on local authorities and other potential and local groups must be strengthened funders meant that even dramatically • the future needs to be rooted in scaling back its programmes would not what the societies want. have been enough. Some facilities have already been Regrettably the amount generated provided: by subscriptions from the 700 civic • one year’s funding from the societies is wholly inadequate to National Trust for Tony Burton to lead sustain even a skeletal organisation. the Initiative Income from societies would need to • office space donated by CPRE increase four-fold to fund the most (London) and RIBA (Liverpool) basic elements of a national movement • a charitable ‘home’ to receive – press, policy, campaigning, web and funds and provide governance through education. Ironically, the trustees had the North of England Civic Trust recently improved their services, • a civic society convention established a web-site, introduced supported by Blackpool Council in training for civic societies, and secured October 2009. a high profile President (Griff Rhys The Civic Society Initiative is Jones); but it was always a race against aiming to produce a set of proposals time, and ultimately time ran out. combining immediate practical An organisation called The Civic viability with a 3-5 year plan of the Society Initiative has rapidly arisen future. For further information, from the ashes of the Civic Trust. The members may wish to refer to loss of the Trust has prompted www.civicsocietyinitiative.org.uk. RJ messages of support and practical Newsletter Summer 2009 11 Proud to be Different Those who live in of a council’s time and energy are spent Tunbridge Wells are on meeting it. Being an excellent used to telling those who authority means we are a bit less don’t, and who think ourselves. they know us better than they do, ‘It’s The process is bureaucratic in the not like that really‘. In that situation strict sense: the functions involved are we are happier to be regarded as just specialised, exercised by those with like anywhere else. We are not special knowledge, and hidden from collectively superior or somehow apart view. Opportunities for public from normal life. The Liverpudlian involvement occur at precisely defined writer Stewart McConie in his search moments for defined purposes. There for middle England said of us we are is even a Statement of Community neither disgusted nor disgusting. Involvement, approved by the But there’s another side to this. Minister, which sets out when and why. When the Council said it would restore So it was not entirely a criticism of our place in the retail hierarchy by Tunbridge Wells Council when we said adding 240,000 square feet of about the Core Strategy last year: ‘A shopping, many said ‘why?‘. We like key feature... should be the protection to think we make our mark in our own and promotion of Royal Tunbridge way, not by our position in a hierarchy. Wells as a unique historic town, not as We expect our council to look after our a commercial centre with historic difference. features‘. Others have said the Strategy Governments don’t recognise this. would apply equally well to Milton The rules they now impose reflect Keynes. What is there to show it concerns with the efficiency and applies to us? honesty of local government. They are The problem is not just the banality designed to ensure common standards of the statements - ‘Green, Safe, and measure progress towards stated Prosperous‘ - it’s the absence of objectives. Local character doesn’t priorities. ‘The Council will preserve come into it, let alone the quality of the general extent of the Green Belt‘ - the environment and historic fair enough, but what are the association. It is ironic that a phrase circumstances in which the Green Belt sometimes used now for planning is will give way? When will Safe or ‘place-making‘. Prosperous outweigh Green? More I argue in my Chairman’s letter that generally, does this sort of planning the requirement to quantify and justify give a basis for taking collective has become so oppressive that much decisions about what could be a flood 12 www.thecivicsociety.org of development proposals with or merely busy elsewhere? A case in commercial muscle behind them? point is the Town Hall complex, a We know we are different but how unique group on a key site built for us do we show it? Much can be done in the thirties, and now listed. below the level of strategic planning. The administration says it is The Society has amended its articles wasteful and difficult to use properly, to add ‘development and and they are ‘assessing alternatives‘; improvement‘ to the previous one of these is known to be re- objectives of ‘protection and development for commercial purposes preservation‘. We aim to take a to ‘improve linkages‘ in the town positive view of change and concern centre. At the same time the land has ourselves with more than the physical been listed in the housing land survey environment. Our voice has been as a housing site. And visitors, even heard recently on licensing, affordable to official functions, are directed to the housing, and the future of the Tourist ‘tradesmen’s entrance‘ round the side. Information Centre. The Society disagrees with We’ve played our part with nearly restricting the use of the town hall, but 200 Conservation Awards in thirty are we actually talking about the same years, given for development of any thing? A town hall is properly the kind which enhances its setting (and centre of its community, used for now known as Civic Society Awards meetings of all kinds, where decisions to make this clear). We scrutinise about are taken in public and officials and 200 planning applications large and councillors are available to discuss and small per year, and make advise. This after all is the model used representations on about 50, and at Westminster. What it is not is a back- sometimes discuss with developers office where officials carry on the before they submit proposals. arcane business of government in Further, we raise issues where secret. necessary: we’ve produced a town Our distinctiveness is expressed by centre position paper, and urged the our public facilities and the use we Council to bring garden parking under make of them. This applies to the planning control, with other works now bandstand too. The Council now say classed as permitted development. We they will facilitate a replacement argue for planning briefs to guide funded by an appeal, and there is wide development in sensitive areas. public support for this. After a long But it would be easy to feel that we delay while we faced the prospect of a are up against not merely reasonable cleared site (another one!) there seems opposition but the way the system a chance that we will add to the town works. Are the other side disagreeing something to mark our difference. AT Newsletter Summer 2009 13 Camden Road -
Two years in the making and with a cast of over 130, the Camden Road Musical, or The Vanishing Elephant as it is more formally called, has finally been staged, in twelve performances between 8th and 20th June. But these two weeks were only the climax of two years of hard work by many hundreds of volunteers and theatre professionals. Creating a community play is a long process. It starts with a ‘discovery’ phase in which local people are asked for old Philip Whitbourn in the role of Charles photographs, for their personal memories, Whitbourn Emson, Mayor of Tunbridge Wells. and for stories that their parents and Emson feared for the reputation of Tunbridge Wells if Madam Sarah Grand, lady novelist grandparents might have handed down. A with ‘advanced’ views, was allowed a leading group of researchers then tries to role in the care of the Belgian refugees who corroborate these stories and provide some settled in the town during the First World War. sort of historical background. Then, by some strange alchemy, these individual snippets of fact and fancy coalesce into a single story with a beginning, middle and end. This is the skill of writer Jon Oram, who then finds the dialogue by which the characters, all based on real people, drive forward the plot. The play starts in the 1880’s with the Baltic Saw Mills murder, the foundation
Jon Oram, writer and director, and an inspiration to the whole project. This was his thirtieth community play, and despite having worked across England, in Europe and North America, the first in his home town - he lives in Rusthall. His affection for Camden Road, its history and residents, is clear.
14 www.thecivicsociety.org The Musical
of St Barnabas’ church, and attacks on the Salvation Army. It moves on twenty years to the campaigns of the suffragettes, some radical, some less so; and then to the Great War - the HMS Hythe disaster and the death of local men on the Somme. But the War also provides the local women with an opportuntity to show their capabilities Above. Karen Wickens, Anne Goldstein and in the management and operation of Meena Chauhan, as Fanny Cross, Gertrude Mosely and Ellen Haffenden, radical canteens and laundries for the troops. The suffragettes. The play highlights the division play ends with them being given the vote, between the ‘conservative’ suffragettes of as a reward for co-operating with the the NUWSS, and the more radical group authorities perhaps, but also having gained who were blamed for burning down the in self confidence and an awareness of cricket pavilion at the Nevill. what they could achieve. The whole production was most impressive - costumes designed and made for 130 characters; wonderful props, including a 20 foot puppet of the Kaiser; music especially written and excellently performed; professional lighting and sound. Everyone involved, I hope, like the women in 1918, felt a great sense of achievement. CJ
Jacky Yardley as Pauline Spender-Clay, wife of the local MP, and Gilly Bishop, as Edith Tattershall Dodd, secretary to the NUWSS. Pauline Spender-Clay’s father was William Waldorf Aster, the richest man in America. A local paper said of her “without being a strikingly beautiful woman, Mrs Clay has attractive features and a restful way of talking.” Newsletter Summer 2009 15 Tunbridge Wells Horticultural Fête 1859 Mike Hinton describes another royal event, from exactly 150 years ago A grand Nursery, near Tunbridge Wells, was horticultural fête was held in Tunbridge most splendid; and a box of cut Wells on Friday 1st July 1859 and was verbenas exhibited by Mr Foreman, reported in the Illustrated London gardener to the Rev. Goldney, was News the following week. The deservedly commended. Among the occasion was honoured by the presence fruit (which, however, was decidedly of members of the exiled French Royal poor considering the liberal prizes Family: Marie Amelie, Countess of offered) were some very fine grapes, Neuilly and widow of King Louis- grown by Mr Powell, gardener to Dr Phillippe; her son, Louis, Duke of S. Newington, and a fair collection of Nemours; and her grandson Gaston, six dishes of fruit from Eridge Castle, Count of Eu. The ‘Royal’ party, who exhibited by Mr Ogle, gardener to the were staying at the Calverley Hotel, Earl of Abegenny [sic]. The collection were conducted to the fête, held in the of stove and greenhouse plants in this adjoining Calverley grounds, by the tent contained some gloxinias from the Hon F.G. Molyneux and members of gardener of H. Reed, Esq., of the committee. The wife of one of extraordinary growth, also a fine them, the Rev. George Goldney, collection of British and exotic ferns, presented the visiting ladies with grown by Mr Maxted, gardener to J. elegant bouquets. Field Esq. Beyond this there were The report continued: some splendid plants, exhibited by Mr We will follow the noble party in Gilbert, among them were their tour through the tents. The first conspicuous Aphelexis sesamoides entered was that devoted to the Barnsii, Rhyncospernum jiminoides, production of cottagers’ gardens, and Alamanda cathartica. Mr Pring, where fruit and vegetables exhibited gardener to Henry Reed Esq., had by W. Brown of Southborough, many fine plants: two noble vincas, attached much notice. The next tent the rare and beautiful plant was filled with cut flowers. Here the Cyanophyllum magnificum, Cissus collection of roses shown by Mr discolour in great beauty, an immense Hollamby, of the Strawberry Hill plant of Coleus blumei, and a very fine
16 www.thecivicsociety.org Araucarni excelsa. Messrs Rycroft in the region of the present day ‘basket- and Wells, gardeners to Alderman ball’ courts. The towers of Christ Salomons, M.P., had a Medinella Church in the High Street and of the magnifica which eminently deserved railway station can be clearly seen. its name; five or six achimenses highly Both buildings have since been commended by the judges, and many replaced. other well very well-grown plants. The It is interesting to identify the main pelagoniums, though past their best, exhibitors. Henry Reed was the owner were very beautiful. of Dunorlan, and Alderman Salomons, A fifty strong band of the Royal MP lived at Broomhill. His ‘MP’ label Artillery was in attendance and played is significant. He had been elected in some ‘beautiful pieces’ while the report May of that year in the first election concludes with a list of the prize after the law was changed to allow Jews winners selected by the judges, the to sit in Parliament. The Rev Goldney Rev. H. H. Dumbrain, and Mr Cox, lived at Southfield in Southborough - gardener to W. Wells, Esq., of Redleaf. where the Skinners’ playing fields are The artist who drew the sketch for now, and ‘Redleaf’, home of W. Wells the engraving (below) must have stood Esq, was north of Penshurst. MH Newsletter Summer 2009 17 War and in Tunbridg
The next monograph from the Local History Group, due to be published on September 3rd, is Tunbridge Wells in the Second World War and the Years of Austerity. It has been written by Ann Bates (left), who contributed to the earlier books: 400 Years of the Wells and The Residential Parks of Tunbridge Wells. Ann was born and brought up in the town, and, apart from a few years living in London, and a tour in the WRNS, has lived here all her life. During the war she was a pupil at the Tunbridge Wells and Blackheath High Schools. (The two schools were both part of the Girls Day Schools Trust. Blackheath was evacuated to Tunbridge Wells in 1940. When the war ended, and the Tunbridge Wells school closed, some of the pupils, including Ann, continued their education in Blackheath.) Ann has worked extensively in the
National Identity Card - to be carried at all times, and shown on demand to any police officer or member of HM Armed Forces who was in uniform and on duty. It didn’t include a photograph.
18 www.thecivicsociety.org Peace e Wells
Borough archives, studying the minutes of the various Council committees, to understand the problems facing the town during and after the war. The Courier, too, on Staff at T Bates & Sons in Eridge Rd during a civil microfilm in the Reference Library, has defence exercise provided a week by week account of events, though wartime censorship means that places are not always fully identified. The research brought back many memories: • watching the ‘dog-fights’ in the clear summer skies of 1940, • seeing the glow of the fires in London from Rusthall Common, • sleeping in the air-raid shelter during the Blitz (Ann’s father’s company, T Bates and Sons, built many of the concrete shelters used in the town). And after the war, there were the long cold winters, shortages of every kind, and the bomb damage all around the school.
Clothing coupons (right) . There were strict instructions that shop-keepers must themselves cut the coupons from the books and not accept loose ones. Newsletter Summer 2009 19 Local History A Celebration of Pharmacists
The Friends of Woodbury Park Cemetery got together recently with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain to celebrate the life of Jacob Bell, who died in Tunbridge Wells on June 12th 1859. Bell, pharmacist, businessman, one-time MP, and a founder of the Society, suffered from incurable TB of the throat and larynx. He came to the town to seek some benefit from the clean air, staying at Summerhill on London Road (currently in very poor A display of Victoriana in AE condition), but died here at the age of 49. Hobbs. The small bottle on the June Bridgeman and Briony Hudson have right contained Dr Williams Pink described his life in a new book Jacob Bell Pills. See p 100 of Tunbridge Wells 1810-1859 A useful and honourable life, in 1909 for some of the miraculous available from the FWPC at £4. During his claims made for these pills. visit to the town the President of the Society formally re- opened the long-established pharmacy, AE Hobbs on Mount Pleasant, which has recently been renovated. CJ
Slightly more recent products
AE Hobbs’ pharmacy was founded in 1896. There was also a shop in St Johns Rd. This picture is from the pre-war period before the buildings in Mount Pleasant were re- numbered. The door was then to the right. Hot water bottles seem to have been a popular item.
20 www.thecivicsociety.org Group News KHF Conference It was the turn of Sheppey Local History Society to host this year’s one- day conference of the Kent History Federation. It will be our turn next year, so Roger Joye and I went to Queenborough to see how Sheppey handled the organisation. The main theme of the conference was the birth of the British aviation industry - which started on Sheppey in 1909. We were very pleased to see that Frank McClean, of Rusthall House (and previously Pembury Road) received due recognition as one of its main financial sponsors. But Sheppey has other claims to fame (other than the fact that it has more caravans than the rest of Kent put together). The naval dockyard at Figurehead from HMS Scylla in the Sheerness was established by Samuel BlueTown Heritage Centre, Sheerness. Pepys in the1660s, suffered in the HMS Scylla was a 21-gun wooden steam Anglo-Dutch wars of that period, was corvette built at Sheerness in 1856. significantly extended by John Rennie a music hall, but which has recently in the early 19th century, and acted as served as a warehouse for bathroom a base for destroyers and mine- fittings. sweepers during the 20th. It closed in We will have to organise up to eight 1960. walks or visits for the visitors to Roger and I chose a visit to Tunbridge Wells next year. Walks ‘Bluetown’ from the range of visits around the Pantiles, Mount Sion, and available in the afternoon. Bluetown the Decimus Burton estates are was the home of the dockyard workers obvious suggestions, and visits to and built in the early 19th century. Salomons and High Rocks could be Most of the early buildings have been popular. If you have any other ideas, swept away, but we were impressed by or would like to be involved with the a new heritage centre in what had been arrangements, please let me know. CJ Newsletter Summer 2009 21 Yet another anniversary
The Assembly Hall was opened in proud of its civic centre in those days. May 1939. The invitation above was The subject matter of the film “The for an event there on 9th June. The Romance of Regent British Petrols” is annotation in the bottom right-hand rather intriguing. ‘Regent’ was the corner describes it as “an opportunity brand name used by the Trinidad to see the magnificent new Municipal Leaseholds company for the petrol it Buildings”. The town was obviously produced on that island. It could be that the film explored the romance of the oil wells and refinery. The company certainly produced illustrated booklets on the subject (see left). I find these lesser-known aspects of the British Empire quite fascinating, so I was very interested to hear from Richard Dolman of Orpington, who left for Trinidad on 10th June 1939. His father was taking up a post at the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery. Mr Dolman’s memories are of boozy parties with RN officers and of his mother going alligator shooting by boat at night. It was a different world - and a different world even then from life in wartime Britain. CJ
22 www.thecivicsociety.org Every year Heritage Open Days celebrates local buildings and places of historical, cultural and architectural value. From Thursday 10th to Sunday 13th September, the Tunbridge Wells area programme offers a range of activities, from visits to mansions to revealing walks. Councillor Mike Rusbridge leads a Royal Walk through Royal Tunbridge Wells, in this its centenary year. Willicombe House will open its doors for the public to witness the beautiful restoration (see below). Jane Dickson leads a walk around hidden Tunbridge Wells. The RSPB’s Broadwater Warren invites visitors to discover the archaeological All Saints Church, Tudeley Church, All Saints secrets of the new reserve. The programme of nearly fifty local events and venues will be available on our web-site (see bottom of page) from mid-July. The full nation- wide programme will be available from the same date on www.heritageopendays.org.uk Amy Powell Salomons - Stables Willicombe House Newsletter Summer 2009 23 Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society Forthcoming Events
Meetings start at 7.45 on the second Thursday in the month (unless otherwise stated), in either Committee Rooms A and B or the Council Chamber within the Town Hall. Please remember to bring your membership card. Visitors are welcome.
July Annual Garden Party- at Eridge Park, by kind permission of 10th the Marquess of Abergavenny. 6 - 8 pm. Admission is by (Fri) ticket - please contact Frances Avery on 862530. Aug Guided tour of St Leonards by the Burtons’ St Leonards 15th Society. Numbers are limited. Please contact Gill Twells on (Sat) 527493.
Sept Heritage Open Days Organised this year by Fiona Woodfield 10th-13th and Amy Powell. Please see page 23.
Sept ‘Without Let or Hindrance’ - the story of passports - an 10th illustrated talk by Martin Lloyd.
Sept Unveiling of the Panorama to commemorate the centenary 25th of ‘Royal’ Tunbridge Wells. On the edge of the Common (Fri) opposite the Royal Wells Inn - 5pm.
NB With the closure of the Town Hall we may not be able to hold our meetings there in future. Please check our web- site or our posters, or contact a member of the committee.
The views expressed in this Newsletter are those of the named author or of the editor and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Society. Published by the Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society.
Registered Charity No. 276545