England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Tunbridge Wells King Charles the Martyr

The Parish

The parish of Tunbridge Wells was raised from Tonbridge parish, in particular from Southborough chapelry in 1833 to accommodate the growing spa town that had begun to develop intensively from Georgian times onwards. Tunbridge Wells lies in southwestern Kent forming a short stretch of its border with neighbouring Sussex. Tunbridge Wells lies approximately 6 miles south of the large market town of Tonbridge and sits on the A26 road which connects London through to Lewes in Sussex. The discovery of chalybeate springs in the early 17th century lead to frequent health visits from the wealthy, initially visitors would have stayed in the pre-existing villages but by 1682 the first building plots were laid out within what was to become Tunbridge Wells. Even by 1810 Tunbridge Wells is described as little more than a hamlet yet by 1831 there were over 6,000 living in what was fast becoming a town. The purchase and development of the 874 acres Calverley estate speeded up growth and the arrival of the railways lead to an explosion in growth leading to the development of commuting into London & eventually the growth of light industry & the service sector within the town, itself. Today's Tunbridge Wells is contiguous with the former villages of Southborough, Rusthall & Pembury & covers a distance of almost 3 miles from north to south. Water draining the parish makes its rather convoluted way south, west and finally north to meet the Medway, passing through Tonbridge it reaches the outer Thames Estuary through the port of Chatham. Tunbridge Wells is sited at around 90 metres above the sea in the rolling countryside of The Weald where local heights barely reach above 120 metres for some distance. The parish acreage is tiny and restricted merely to the initial area of the growing town, as stated already the population grew from barely a handful through to several thousands but for the vast majority of the time of this transcript marriages would have been recorded in Tonbridge and other nearby parishes. In Domesday times this was an equally blank canvas with no manors recorded whatsoever in the current area of Tunbridge Wells.

The Church

King George the Martyr's church sits at the busy junction of the A26 with Neville Street, the dedication is indicative of the Royalist connections of early visitors to the spa. The early church was half sized to the present day version being erected in the 1670s and extended in 1682 barely 7 years later an exact double was added westwards to make what appears to be two churches conjoined in a square plane. Whilst the exterior has little architecture for Pevsner to get excited about the interior, and the ornate plaster ceilings, are sufficient to move the man to florid description. The eastern version was designed by one John Wetherel whilst one Henry Doogood repeated the theme in the newer western space. Both are well worth a visit to behold. The church has no parking nearby and is best visited after first finding parking in one of the many town car parks. Its urban setting makes it a particular challenge for photographer as, especially to the south, it is hemmed in by largely business properties and fronted by a busy main road notorious for its traffic