royal tunbridge wells civic society 2009.pdf · the answer lies in the hands of those civic society...

Royal Tunbridge Wells

Civic SocietyNewsletter

Autumn2009

Winter 2009

2 www.thecivicsociety.org

Front cover: A reminder of last Summer,- green and harmonious - Salomons

The Local History Group will be hosting the 2010 conference of theKent History Federation. This is a one-day event of talks and walks, to beheld on Saturday 8th May, in the church of King Charles the Martyr. Themorning session will comprise lectures on the general theme of thedevelopment of Tunbridge Wells from resort to residential town. Thespeakers will be well-known to members of the Society:

• John Cunningham on The Origins and Nature of Tunbridge Wells• Philip Whitbourn on The Impact of Decimus Burton• Ian Beavis on Tunbridge Ware: the First Tourist Souvenir?

In the afternoon there will be a choice of walks and visits, led by membersof the Local History Group or by colleagues from other local societies.

• The Pantiles (led by Blue Badge Guides)• Mount Sion• The Common• The Buildings of Decimus Burton• Dunorlan Park• Woodbury Park Cemetery• Spa Valley Railway and High Rocks

Tickets for the event cost £7:50 which includes coffee and tea in themorning and afternoon. A buffet lunch will be provided, in the ChurchHall, for an extra £7:50. If you would like to order tickets please contactChris Jones on 522025, or John Cunningham on 534599. Please note thatthere is an extra charge for the Pantiles walk, and the trip to High Rocks, tocover the extra costs.

We would also like to hear from anybody who would like to help us onthe day, looking after our guests from local history societies in the rest ofKent. Helpers will of course not have to buy a ticket, or pay for their lunch.

Kent History FederationAnnual Conference 2010

Local History Group

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Personally Speaking ... 4

From the Planning Scrutineers by Gill Twells ... 5

Chairman’s Letter by Alastair Tod ... 6

The Calverley Bandstand ... 8An update on the situation from Alastair Tod.

Another Wimbledon Champion? ... 9Chris Jones follows up an intriguing story.

The Past is a Foreign Country ... 14Charmian Clissold-Jones on changing standards of behaviour.

The Delights of Victorian Scrapbooks ... 16Geoffrey Copus relishes old press-cuttings.

The Restoration of Frindsbury Barn ... 18

Putting Faces to Names - Christo Skelton ... 19

Summary of Financial Activities ... 20

Annual General Meeting ... 21

Obituary - Myrtle Streeten ... 22

Future Events ... 23

Forthcoming Events ... 24

Editor: Chris Jones. 52 St James Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 2LBTel 01892 522025 (evenings and weekends) Email [email protected]: Christo Skelton. 4 Caxton House, 19 Mount Sion, Tunbridge Wells TN11UB. Tel 01892 513241 Email [email protected]

Contents


by Chris Jones

Personally Speaking

Local History Group... It might appear that the LocalHistory Group is taking over the Newsletter, with the number of pages dedicatedto its activities and interests. The answer lies in the hands of those Civic Societymembers who are interested in other things - if you would suggest topics forfuture non-historical articles, or, better still, provide the articles themselves;then we would be very happy to include them.

Sad Losses... When I first joined the committee, some ten years ago now,one of its more powerful personalities was Myrtle Streeten, always strong inthe defence of the town’s heritage, particulary the Grove and the Common. Ididn’t realise that in earlier years she and the Society had occasionally been ondifferent sides of the argument. In his obituary of her on page 22, PhilipWhitbourn explains the difficult path she felt she had to tread between her ownviews, and the need, as a Councillor, to remain neutral.

There have been other recent losses amongst our membership: MaryWoodruffe, who was Programme Secretary during the 1980s and more recentlya founder member of the Local History Group, working with Philip Whitbournon the production of his Decimus Burton monograph; Richard Storkey, experton the town’s cinemas and theatres, who led guided tours around the OperaHouse duing Heritage Open Days; and Anthony Du Gard Pasley, a memberfrom the very early days, and a renowned garden designer, writer and lecturer.(Anthony it was who used to term ‘Bereavement belt’ to describe TunbridgeWells. Sadly only too true in recent weeks.)

Happier News ... Jane Dickson has produced her third book of walks in theseries ‘Beyond the Pantiles’. This one covers Mount Ephraim, Boyne Park andLondon Road. As before, there are excellent colour photographs by HarryFenton. Price £4.50.

Guy Hitchings has asked me to explain that his book on the stained glass inSpeldhurst Church, reviewed in the last Newsletter, is also available fromWaterstones, and from Speldhurst Post Office. You can also order it by postfrom Mr Hitchings, at Spring Bank, Speldhurst, TN3 0PD, for £3.74, to includep&p. Please make cheques payable to ‘Guy Hitchings’. CJ

News & Views

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From the PlanningScrutineers

by Gill Twells

Recent DecisionsRefused A proposal to build a new detached house between Brook Cottage

in Upper Cumberland Walk and the disused railway.Refused A proposal to replace, with uPVC frames, the top floor timber-

framed windows of the building at the acute corner of Mount Ephraim andCulverden Street, opposite the TN4 pub.

Refused A proposal to erect a new 2-bed house in Tunnel Road, attached tothe house, no.30.

Pending The proposal to enlarge the Tesco Supermarket at Pembury.Pending The proposal to “Stop up” the existing Public rights-of-way which

were discovered to exist within the Cinema site requires the Sec. of State’sapproval. This is delaying the decision by the Borough Council.

Approved The amendment to provide two “walkways” within theredevelopment of the Cinema site (as a substitute for the Public rights-of-way)which will be locked shut at night but open to the public during the day. Theimplementation of this proposal is obviously dependent upon the Sec. of State’sapproval to the “stopping-up” of the Public rights-of-way.

Approved A proposal to replace derelict garages in the rear garden of 21and 22 Eridge Road with a new single house. We commented that we consideredthis original garden - directly beneath a high bank supporting the Spa Valleyrailway - should remain undeveloped. So we are disappointed with this decision.

New ProposalWe have just viewed a proposal by Kevin Spencer, of the Brew House Hotel,

to convert no 7 Nevill Street, the end house of the terrace, from a shop withresidential use over, to hotel use, ancillary to the Brew House Hotel. The groundfloor would contain 2 gym rooms with 5 bedrooms above - the top one, in theroof space, having parts of the roof-space each side which would containventilation equipment. Work on this conversion has already been started so thisis yet another “Retrospective” application by Mr. Spencer. We have yet to discussthis proposal at an executive committee meeting and agree a suitable comment.


Chairman’s LetterChairman’s LetterChairman’s LetterChairman’s LetterChairman’s Letter

Tunbridge WellsDecember 2009

It was no great surprise to hear that Tunbridge Wells Council’sChief Executive Sheila Wheeler is moving on after less thanfour years in post. During that time drastic changes have takenplace at the Town Hall, with many staff departures and the

Council moving from a rating of ‘Weak‘ in 2004 to one of ‘Excellent‘ in March2009, a rating shared with about a fifth of local councils. Ms Wheeler hascertainly left her mark on Tunbridge Wells, and we wish her well in her newpost at Somerset.

Much has been said about the ‘Excellent‘ rating. It is worth a look at whatthe Audit Commission found. Our Council was 65th out of 388 councils in theproportion of indicators improved, and was one of only 12 in the country in thetop category for ‘value for money‘. In 57% of indicators Tunbridge Wells fellin the top quartile of councils. Customer satisfaction with planning was ratedat 69% and with refuse collection 65%. Good, but not brilliant, in terms of theyardstick, you might think.

But it is also worth looking at the yardstick. The Commission judgesperformance on measures which can be reduced to numbers to enablecomparisons between councils. To read its account is to enter a strange world,part PR, part bean-counting, and sometimes obscure. Surely some of thesewords come straight from the Council itself? ‘The Council continues to focuson delivering improved outcomes for local communities, linked to its overallambitions. The Council’s Strategic Plan 2007/10, sets out under four keypriorities what the Council, with its partners aim to achieve‘ (sic) (Inspectionletter para. 17). But ‘Performance compares with the best nationally for thetop five per cent of earners from (black and minority) communities and forpeople with disabilities. However, it compares with the worst performancenationally for the top 5 per cent of earners who are women‘ (ibid para. 29).

The changes at the Council have not been uncontroversial in the town. Theopening of the Gateway has been well received by users of its services, but hasleft the Town Hall like a beached whale. The concentration of executive powerin a small cabinet has slashed the responsibility of other councillors, even viathe increasingly active select committees. Meeting Whitehall targets for plan-making and handling planning applications we feel has tended to supplant

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initiative and dialogue in this most sensitive area. The contracting-out of manyfunctions puts a new stress on specifying and managing contracts, at whichour record has been, well, mixed.

Plans, policies and priorities have multiplied, each with requirements forconsultation and reporting. One routine management paper on which wecommented was said to be based on customer service commitments, nationalpriorities, Kent priorities, the Sustainable Community Plan, the Local StrategicPartnership, the Public Service Board and delivery groups, and Vision2026,leading to priorities and an Action Plan. This paper panoply multiplies costs,diffuses control, and makes public involvement a shadow play (let alone theeffect on the rain-forest). It may perhaps be necessary in the course of arevolution, without needing to become a way of life.

These changes have occurred in some degree everywhere, but were moresudden in Tunbridge Wells because of the previous administration’s relativeinnocence of the new techniques. The Chief Executive post is now advertisedat £109,000, and the Council is intent on making an appointment by mid-December. Meanwhile the Conservatives‘ Caroline Spellman has announcedtheir intention to abolish local authority chief executives with primary legislationto be introduced in their first year.

What the Tories intend instead is not yet clear, but one option is universaldirectly elected mayors with executive powers: this option has been adoptedalready by about a dozen authorities in England. (The Conservatives are saidnot to favour this because of the risk of ‘1000 Borises‘). Another option wouldbe to return power to elected members and reinforce the traditional distinctionbetween councillors who take decisions and officers who advise. We havebecome seriously concerned about the delegation of decisions (to officers) andthe interpretation of rules (by officers) fettering the ability of members torepresent their electors.

The Society is scrupulously non-partisan (and also does not forecast theoutcome of elections), but after such upheavals in the last three and a halfyears it would seem wise to pause and review the functioning of our Councilbefore committing us to another such high-powered chief officer. There is anobvious danger that such a highly paid post will be seen as a useful (short)career step, with a premium on ticking Whitehall’s boxes and change for change’ssake. One could innocently speculate that what Tunbridge Wells needs now isa phase of patiently picking up the pieces, developing skills, and makingrelationships work.

Alastair Tod


The Calverley Bandstand

The East Peckham Silver Band playing in Calverley Grounds during thesummer.

News & Views

It is now clear that the Council intends to seek permission to demolish thebandstand without any replacement other than a level surface which mightsupport a temporary fabric-roofed structure in future. This is a complete reversalof the plan discussed with the Civic Society and the Town Forum in the spring.

More importantly the plan defies the freely expressed wish of those whoresponded to the Courier petition. The present bandstand is not unsafe – theCouncil’s own surveyor only reported it ‘could become unsafe‘. The basecould be reinforced. The post-war top structure has limited use and life, but itcould be replaced with an inspiring permanent structure suitable for many typesof performance.

The Civic Society does not advocate restoring the original elaborate designbut we do want to see a traditional landmark recreated in Calverley Grounds,and lively events making use of it. There are resources available for a worthyreplacement with public support – and the Council originally promised tofacilitate this. The Society will strongly oppose demolition. AT

An update from Alastair Tod

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Can Tunbridge Wells claim anotherWimbledon Champion?

Local History

The Lawford home in CalverleyPark Gardens. The area hadbeen earmarked for housing byDecimus Burton in 1828, butwas not actually developeduntil the 1850s Many of thehouses were by WilliamWillicombe, highly respectedTunbridge Wells builder.

We all know of the links betweenTunbridge Wells and Virginia Wade,the last British winner of a Wimbledonsingles championship. But did youknow that we can claim a men’s singleschampion as well, albeit of a somewhatearlier era?

Herbert Fortescue Lawford wasborn in Bayswater in 1851, but wasbrought to Tunbridge Wells at the ageof six, and grew up in Calverley ParkGardens. The family home, see below,was probably new when they movedin: today it is split into four flats.Herbert’s father, Thomas AclandLawford, was a stockbroker, one of thefew ‘working men’ in a neighbourhoodfavoured by wealthy widows, retired

Bengal civil servants, and those withprivate incomes.

At 14, Herbert went off to school atRepton in Derbyshire; and later tostudy at Edinburgh University - thoughhe was not an academic student anddid not graduate. By 1871 he was backin Calverley Park Gardens anddescribed in the census returns as a‘broker’s clerk’. He was obviouslyfollowing in his father’s footsteps andthree years later was admitted amember of the Stock Exchange. In thatyear, 1874, the family left TunbridgeWells.

The 1870s saw the adoption by theEnglish middle classes of lawn tennis,taking the place of croquet which had

Chris Jones follows up an intriguing story


Local History

been popular in the 1860s. Both gamesdemonstrated the Victorians’ love ofnovelty, and their drive to organise andcodify the world. Both also benefitedfrom technological advances: thedevelopment of the lawn-mower,earlier in the century; and, in the caseof tennis, of vulcanised rubber, for themanufacture of balls that bounced.

The All-England Croquet Club atWimbledon adopted the new game in1875, and in 1877 held the firstGentlemen’s Singles championship.Herbert competed in the 1878tournament and did very well. Hefinished fourth - out of 33 entrants -and won 4 guineas. The following yearhe was beaten in the first round, buthe did much better in 1880. He hadwon the Prince’s Championship at the

end of June, and powered through towin the knock-out competition atWimbledon in July. The Times claimedthat he “has attained great proficiencyin the art [of lawn tennis]. There is noend to the variety of his service, hisdelivery is full of force, and he plays amost tiring game for his opponent”.

The tournament, however, wasarranged slightly differently in thosedays. The knockout competition wassimply the first stage - the winner wasthen required to challenge the previousyear’s champion for the championshipproper. In this match (see below)Lawford lost in four sets to JohnThorneycroft Hartley. The Timesreported that Lawford “throughout hadthe sun in his face” which suggests thatin those days they didn’t change ends.

The 1880 play-off.The chap in theforeground isalmost certainlyHartley - Lawfordalways woreknickerbockerswhen playingtennis.

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Hartley was a Yorkshire clergymanwho went on to become Rural Deanof Ripon.

Lawford reached the semi-final ofthe knockout competition in 1881, butwas beaten by William Renshaw (seeabove). He reached the fourth roundin 1882, but was knocked out in thefirst round in 1883. In 1884 he wonthe All Comers Prize, ie the knockoutcompetition, but was then beaten byWilliam Renshaw the reigningchampion. It was perhaps unfortunatefor Lawford that he was competing atthe same time as the Renshaw brothers,William and Ernest, who dominatedthe game in the early 1880s. Lawfordwould typically power through atournament winning his matches in

straight sets, only to be brought to ahalt by a Renshaw. He was essentiallya baseline player with a powerfulreturn of service, and it took him a littletime to master the volley at which theRenshaw’s excelled.

It is interesting to note that althoughThe Times stated in 1879 that lawntennis had “steadily insinuated itselfinto public favour”, it allocated onlyfive lines to reporting Renshaw’s 1884victory over Lawford. In the sameissue it gave thirteen lines to the (Real)Tennis championship at Lords, won bythe Hon Alfred Lyttelton, footballer,cricketer, and later Colonial Secretary.

In 1885 Lawford won the Irishchampionship and was again winnerof the Wimbledon All-Comers Prize.

The 1881 semi-final. Lawford,

on the left,against William

Renshaw.


Local History

In the fourth round he had defeated theAmerican, HJ Dwight - Americans hadfirst competed the previous year.Lawford was, however, again defeatedby William Renshaw in the play-off.As The Illustrated London Newsexplained “the invincible Mr WRenshaw once more won theChampionship ... from the almostinvincible Mr H.F. Lawford”. Therewere 4,000 spectators that year. TheIrish Championships attracted evenbigger crowds, probably because thevenue was more central. There werealso tournaments in Bath, Buxton,Cheltenham, Eastbourne andExmouth, but not in Tunbridge Wells.Devonshire Park in Eastbourne at this

time had thirty lawn tennis courts - andelectric lighting - a measure of how farTunbridge Wells was failing tocompete as a resort.

Slazenger & Sons, ‘manufacturersof every requisite for lawn tennis’advertised the ‘Lawford’ racquet thatyear: “a new shape this season, andspecially adapted for a rapid game”. Ithad a longer handle and smaller head,and its very rigid tension gave aquicker return of the ball, though “it isnot so well adapted for screwingpurposes” (?). It seems, though, thatLawford had anticipated Slazenger inthe commercial possibilities of thegame. A judge in the High Court ofJustice in June 1885 awarded aninjunction against Slazengers - a rivalmanufacturer had already registeredLawford’s name two years earlier.

Lawford was again beaten byWilliam Renshaw in the 1886 playoffs,but finally achieved the championshipin 1887. William Renshaw hadsprained his elbow so was unable todefend his title. The winner of theknockout competition would thereforebecome champion. Lawford defeatedErnest Renshaw in five sets, 1-6, 6-3,3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Despite the scores, TheTimes declared the match “less excitingthan had been anticipated” - Renshaw,it seems, was not up to his usual form.

Ernest Renshaw got his revenge in1888 beating Lawford in the playoffs.According to The Times, “The victoryof Ernest Renshaw was very popular”,

Lawford won the Irish Championship threeyears running - 1884 - 1886.

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The Lawford Stroke - Herbert developed apower game against the volleyer incorporatinga topspin forehand which was the first of itskind.

which seems a bit hard on our man.Lawford lost in the first round in 1889,and his last appearance, in 1890, wasmore of a non-appearance - he got abye in the first round and scratched inthe second.

Lawford is said to have been knownfor his ‘swank’ that “delightful termfavoured by the Victorians to suggestan overt display of cockiness orsuperior airs”. It was perhaps a familytrait. His brother Sydney, born inTunbridge Wells in 1865, and whowent into the army, was apparentlyknown behind his back as ‘SwankySyd’. Despite this he had a successfulmilitary career, reaching the rank of LtGeneral and being made KCB. After the war, he had an affair with the wife

of a fellow officer, and they had a son.There was a divorce and some scandal.Lawford and the boy’s mother marriedand withdrew to France. Their sonbecame known as Peter Lawford,Hollywood star and brother-in-law toPresident Kennedy.

Herbert Lawford retired in 1910 toAberdeenshire. He died there in 1925.He is remembered now mainly as theinventor of ‘top-spin’. TunbridgeWells seems to have completelyforgotten him.

My thanks to Nigel Lawford foralerting us to this story, and forproviding much of the material. CJ


The past is a foreign country:they do things differently there

Cole Porter wrote these lyrics in1934, and his words ring true todayas much as they did then. But back in1892, when the CommonsConservators met to discuss currentissues, they were worried about theplaying of “Games on Sundays”. Itwas resolved that “the Common’sKeeper be instructed to stop theplaying of games on the Commons onSundays as far as possible”. Stillhappening in 1935, it was reportedthat, “Questions relating to thelanguage used by persons playingfootball on the Commons on Sundayswere considered. Resolved, that theattention of the Chief Constable becalled to the matter”.

Strict bye-laws were in place togovern the behaviour of people usingthe Commons and to restrictnuisances. On the subject oftobogganing, it was resolved that “theclerk be instructed to take proceedingsagainst any person tobogganing on theCommon after the snow hasdisappeared”, but on a moremysterious matter, “a letter was

received from Dr Gilbert (in 1902) asto nuisances committed on theCommon. Resolved: that the matterbe brought before the HealthCommittee of the Corporation”.

In 1898, it was resolved that no linenbe allowed to be placed on theCommon near Gibraltar and St. Helenacottages. This was the least of theirproblems. The residents of these twopremises were unfortunate in havingto endure continued harassment overthe years. In 1894, “it was reportedthat a piece of ground near St. Helenawas being used as a urinal. Resolved:that the matter be referred to theCommittee with instructions to arrangefor the prevention of the use of the landin question for that purpose”. Later,in 1938, “a letter was received fromMr Heydon, asking permission toplace a rail around the space ofCommon stated to be customarily keptmown and tidy by the tenant ofGibraltar Cottage, and complaining ofchildren who trample on the flowerbeds and throw missiles through thewindows of the cottage”. (This was

In olden days a glimpse of stockingWas looked on as something shockingBut now Heavens knows,Anything goes.

Charmian Clissold-Jones has been studying the archives of theCommons Conservators and in particular the problems they had

in getting people to behave.

Local History

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refused and the request for permissionto erect a rail was still being sought in1957.)

There was a long history of “noisyand rowdy” behaviour by children. In1909 the matter was referred to theChief Constable after a complaint froma Mr Hagger. In April of that year aneight year-old boy died after being hiton the head by stones thrown on theCommon. A certain roughness wasexpected, perhaps encouraged, whenboys played - reports of a 1909 ScoutCamp include references to a ‘heavyfight’ between Edenbridge andTunbridge Wells boys, and they werenot critical references.

The problems weren’t all related tothe young. In 1907 the Conservatorstook action against the playing ofrough games on the Common: thepolice were asked to prevent theplaying of football within 20 yards ofthe Queen’s Grove. There was a moreserious problem withthe burning of the furze(gorse) which had beena traditional form ofcelebration in the town.By the late 19th centurythere were rules againstit, but it still went on.William Waghorn gotaway with a fine but

Albert Jeffery was sentenced to twelvemonths hard labour.

During the two wars, the militaryset up camps on the Commons. In 1918the Canadian Forestry Corps weregiven permission to play Baseball onthe Lower Cricket Ground - thoughpresumably not on Sundays. Trencheswere dug in 1938, one of whichimmediately filled with water. “TheMayor reported ... on injuries whichhad been sustained by a person whowas walking on the Commons andaccidentally fell into an unprotectedgun pit.”

These were some of the moreinteresting facts to emerge from theminutes of the Conservators, standingout from the usual business of trees,fences, footpaths, the riding of bicyclesand horses and the parking of cars onthe Common (all still forbidden).Perhaps not quite “anything goes”,even today, in Tunbridge Wells. CC-J

Pic-nicking in the Queen’sGrove. Protected by the

police from rowdyfootballers.


The Delights of Victorian ScrapbooksGeoffrey Copus finds items of interest in a

treasure trove of old press cuttings

Local History

Many years ago the late StanleyKempster helped to kindle my interestin Victorian Tunbridge Wells bylending me two huge scrapbooks, fullof newspaper cuttings, many of themcoming from the Tunbridge WellsAdvertiser or Courier. The cuttings hadbeen collected by a Mr. P.C.N.Marsh,a friend of Stanley’s grandfather JamesKempster, the founder of the familyfirm. Like James, Mr. Marsh was adevoted supporter of St. Stephen’sMission church, later to be transformedinto St. Barnabas’.

Stanley’s son Brian is equallyinterested in the town’s history, andamong other items of historical interestin the family archives he recentlydiscovered and lent to me anotherscrapbook and an envelope of morecuttings. In fact, the scrapbook isbasically a large bound volume, from1870-74, of “The Graphic”, a Victorian

publication on the same lines as the“Illustrated London News”, withengravings of current events,prominent personalities etc. Some ofthe pages have had a further selectionof local cuttings pasted over them, andmany of these are of great interest, with

a preponderance of obituaries anddetails of funerals.

I was interested to find an accountof the death of the leader of the“Ceylon Band”. The cutting is from alocal paper of 29 October 1881:

“DEATH OF MR. E. McGRATH –We regret to say that intelligence hasbeen received of the death of Mr. E.McGrath, leader of the band which hasbeen so popular in Tunbridge Wells forseveral years past. The band, as ourreaders are aware, accepted anengagement on board the steam yachtCeylon, which started in the early partof last week on a cruise round the world.From what we hear, it appears that onSaturday night last, when the steamerwas off the French coast, McGrath wassuddenly missed, and one of hiscomrades discovered that he wasoverboard. Efforts were made to rescuehim but without avail and he wasdrowned.

McGrath, who was a splendidmusician, leaves a wife and severalyoung children totally unprovided for,and we hope that the case will not belost sight of by the kind-hearted residentsof this town. The Special Correspondentof the Sportsman, who is on board the“Ceylon”, gives an account of theoccurrence, and says; ‘the man whowent overboard was the chief of the

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band. He had been drinking heavily onshore, and was suffering from an attackof delirium tremens. The doctor gaveorders for him to be well looked after,but his brother-in-law, who was with himon deck, was unable to seize him in timeto stop his final leap.’

This accident cast a gloom over theship, and this morning a subscription hasbeen got up for the widow and twochildren. About £30 so far has beensubscribed.”

There are frequent references to theCeylon Band in the late 19th centuryhistory of Tunbridge Wells, but littledefinite information about it. MargaretGill, in her book of old postcards,claims that “with time, the banddwindled till finally there was but onecornet player ‘whose somewhatmelancholy solos, in weather fair, foulor cold, only ceased when, poor man,he could no longer play’.” Jean

Mauldon, however, in her book onTunbridge Wells as it was, suggeststhat the band was simply renamed theBeyreuth Orchestra; yet Chris Joneshas references to both the BayreuthOrchestra and the Ceylon Band beingcommissioned by the Council forperformances during 1909. Clearly,further research is needed.

Another item of local interest in theGraphic itself is an engraving of 1874showing Dornden, the Rusthall homeof Princess Louise and her husband theMarquis of Lorne. The article ‘gushes’somewhat, very like estate-agentdescriptions of the present day “thegrounds of the mansion are laid out ina tasteful and picturesque manner, andare planted with choice shrubs, trees,and flowers. There are croquet andarchery grounds, a pinetum, a fernery,and a beautiful sheet of ornamentalwater”. GC


Recent Talks

Members who attended WalterRoberts’ talk in February, about thebuilding of his new ‘Tudor’ house inUpnor near Rochester, will haverealised that his mind had alreadymoved on to other things. In Decemberhe had an opportunity to tell us abouthis new project - the restoration of themedieval barn at Frindsbury.

Built about1403 for the Benedictinecommnity of Rochester, it is thelongest medieval timber structure inBritain and Grade I listed. Sadly it wasattacked by vandals in 2003 andsuffered serious fire damage. Open tothe elements and a target for furthervandalism, it had an uncertain future.Backed by the evidence of his housein Upnor, Walter Roberts was able topersuade the church authorities to sellhim the barn and surrounding land in2008, with a promise that it would berestored in a project that would benefitthe local community.

Clearly it would be difficult to makeany sort of commercial return on thebarn itself, so there was always goingto be a need for some ‘enablingdevelopment’ - effectively the buildingof new houses. In fact the site providesa second, rather interesting source offunding. Beyond the barn is a disusedquarry, a rather unattractive place thatlimited the scope of possibledevelopment. Instead, it will be leasedto a land-fill contractor who over a

The Restoration of Frindsbury Barnperiod of five years will fill it andcreate a shallow lake, and more landfor development. The income from thequarry will fund the initial work on thebarn, and the other buildings.

The vision for the residentialdevelopment is of individual housedesigns in a vernacular style using thevillage of Pluckley - with its porchesand rounded ‘Dering’ windows - asinspiration. Around the restored barnthere will be a visitor cente and craftworkshops.

Walter Roberts trained as a joinerin the 1950s and is very keen to offerthe benefits of a traditional apprentice-ship to young people living locally.CJ

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Christo Skelton

Putting Faces to Names

I was born on 12 December 1945in Bromley, Kent where I lived for 21years apart from a brief time inChiswick. I attended prep school nearKidderminster and then went toBeaumont College in Old Windsor - aJesuit public school now closed down.After a brief time working in HarrodsI worked in an Advertising Agency inKnightsbridge for 2 years beforeemigrating to Canada in 1967.

Within a year of being in Canada Iwas married and had a son. Thismarriage did not survive. I worked inthe Life Insurance business whilst inCanada but migrated over to the ITside of things with the birth of thepersonal computer. I married again andhad another child. At the age of 55 thecompany I worked for demutualisedand people over 50 were offeredredundancy or early pension. It wasat this time that I decided to return tothe UK after 32 years in Canada and,gaining the approval of my children, Idid so in 1999.

I settled in Tunbridge Wells,

principally because I have a brother inTonbridge and also because of itsproximity to London and the coast. Thefirst thing I did was to get professionalaccreditation and I became a MicrosoftCertified Solution Developer. After thisI opened a business called TecNetInternet Cafe in Tunbridge Wells whichwas located first on Calverley Road andthen on Nevill Street. This businessclosed after 22 months.

At this time I decided, not reallyhaving much choice, to become self-employed as an IT Consultant. WhenMicrosoft released Windows Vista Ibecame completely disillusioned withMicrosoft and decided that there mustbe a better way. It was at this time thatI switched to the Apple Mac platformand haven’t looked back since then. Iam now a Mac Evangelist and marketmyself as a Mac and PC Consultant.

My interests are German culture andhistory, Japanese culture and history,Asian and European cinema,technology, arts and history, classicaland 1960s music. I support a poorfamily in Manila as much as I can. Ihave run for office twice - once forTown Council in Park ward and oncefor County Council for Pantiles and St.Marks ward - both for the LiberalDemocrats. I live on Mount Sion.

Our new Secretary


Financial Summary - to 31st August 2009

2009 2008UNRESTRICTED FUNDS (see Note below)

£ £ £ £INCOMING RESOURCES

From generated funds:Voluntary Income 6,070 4,960Investment Income 234 373

6,304 5,333

From charitable activities:Sales 8,642 13,193Events for members 632 615

9,274 13,808Total Incoming Resources 15,578 19,141

RESOURCES EXPENDED

Charitable activities:Cost of sales 7,427 6,640Events for members 2,750 2,314Newsletter 1,085 1,000Support costs 2,259 2,571Community activities 828 583

Total Resources Expended 14,349 13,108

NET INCOMING RESOURCES 1,229 6,033

FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD 23,895 17,862

FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD £25,124 £23,895

Note: From 2007, income and expenditure relating to Heritage Open Days have beenseparately identified as Restricted Funds. These sums are not included in the figures shownabove. The Restricted Fund figures are as follows:

RESTRICTED FUNDSRestricted Income: £2,850 £2,350Restricted Expenditure: £2,178 £2,739Net Restricted Incoming Resources: £672 (£389)Restricted Funds brought forward: £2,494 £2,883Restricted Funds carried forward: £3,166 £2,494

TOTAL Funds carried forward: £28,290 £26,389

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The Annual General Meeting was held on November 12th. The Chairman,Alastair Tod, summarised the activities of the past year: the creation of thePanorama on Mount Ephraim, the celebration of our fiftieth anniversary inJune, the visit to St Leonards and the garden party at Eridge Park, the ongoingwork of the planning scrutineers, the meetings with the council, and the regularprogramme of talks for members. He also reminded the meeting of things thathad not happened: progress on the cinema site, and any proposals from theRegeneration Company; and expressed concern at the Council’s apparentdisregard of both our heritage, and of public opinion, as shown by their proposalsfor the bandstand.

There were no contested elections, but much coming and going amongstofficers and committee. After three years on the Committee, John Sworderdecided not to continue, and was thanked for his various contributions. BryanSenior also stood down but we hope that he may return in the future. DavidWakefield had to withdrawn as Vice President having served the maximumtwo terms, as did Andrew Bridge, though Andrew is re-joining as a Committeemember. John Forster, a previous Chairman, has returned to take one of theVice President positions.

Pauline Everett is moving away from Tunbridge Wells, and so has had toresign as Secretary. A measure of the workload of the Secretary is that Paulineis being replaced by two people. Christo Skelton is taking on membershipresponsibilities, and holds the formal post of Secretary, while Sue Brown willbecome Minutes Secretary. Christo (see page 19) is introducing us to newtechnology - the society now has a presence on Facebook. CJ

Annual General Meeting

Society News

Alerting large numbers of our members as quickly as possible to late changesin the programme has hitherto been difficult, to say the least. However, theunprecedented level of revision required for our December meeting, whenneither the venue, nor the date, nor the speaker and topic were as published ayear earlier in the 2009 programme card, led us to email a warning to the 60%or so of our members who use the internet. If you have an email address buthave not notified us of it yet, please consider supplying it to our [email protected]. We promise not to bombard you with junk emails.RJ

A recent initiative ...


Myrtle StreetenVice-President of the Civic Society 1997 - 2002

To an observer of the Tunbridge Wells scene from the 1960s to the 1990s,the name “Myrtle” could mean only one thing, namely, the redoubtable figureof Mrs Myrtle Streeten. Passionate about history in general, and about ThePantiles in particular, Myrtle was for many years closely identified with ThePantiles Association, of which she was a long-serving and energetic Secretary.

Elected to the fomer Royal Tunbridge Wells Corporation in 1965, Myrtlewas an intensely loyal Councillor and, as such, her relations with the CivicSociety in the late 1960s could, at times, seem uneasy. On the one hand, sheclearly shared the Society’s concern for the conservation of Tunbridge Wellsbut, on the other hand, she was a committed member of a Council which was,at that time, bent upon pressing its ill-conceived Town Centre Plan.

The Society’s victory at the 1970 “Ring Road” Inquiry, together with theLocal Government reorganisation of 1974, paved the way for better relations.Nevertheless, while a Councillor, Myrtle always understandably considered ither duty to be seen to be even-handed when considering the many planningissues that came before her. After her retirement from the “new” BoroughCouncil in 1991, Myrtle felt better placed to participate actively in Civic SocietyAffairs, and served as a Vice-President from 1997 until 2002.

Other public roles included those of Commons Conservator, and a Governorof Tunbridge Wells Girls Grammar School. However, her greatest moment camein 1977, during her Mayoral year, with the visit of Queen Elizabeth the QueenMother to the Town Hall. The huge cheer and applause that greeted HerMajesty’s appearance on the balcony surmounting the now locked entrance,greatly appealed to Myrtle’s sense of history. It was, she explained to me later,an “almost mediaeval” expression of the bond between Crown and People.

Sadly, Myrtle’s failing health necessitated a move from her beloved houseoverlooking The Grove, to be near her son’s family in Oxfordshire, where shedied on 9th September, aged 91. One of her last public ascts in Tunbridge Wellswas to mount a brave but doomed campaign, to persuade the Council to buythe Cinema Site. The Council had investments, and the property could wellhave proved a bargain. Her perhaps somewhat idealistic notion of turning thebuilding into a museum always appeared a rather unlikely starter. Even so, hadthe Council heeded her pleas, and stepped in at that time, how different thefocal point of our town centre might now be.

Philip Whitbourn, President 1995 - 2005

Obituary

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Future Events

Our annual programme of talks has to be organised far in advance – it isusually complete by the preceding August – so there is inevitably a risk that itwill be disrupted by unforeseen events. The only good thing about our enforcedmove from the Council Chamber in 2009 was that it occurred in the quiet summerperiod, giving us time to find an alternative venue before September. We nowenvisage using the Royal Wells Hotel whenever possible, but it does tend to befully booked towards Christmas (hence our use of the Camden Centre inDecember); and it cannot cater for large numbers, so the Awards Evening inApril will be held in the Christ Church Centre in the High Street.

We appreciate that the location of the Royal Wells Hotel is not quite asconvenient as the Town Hall for some of our members, so please contact RogerJoye if you have any suggestions for a venue which you think might be moresuitable overall in the long run. The monthly meetings are one of the maintangible benefits available to the Society’s members, so we do want them to beaccessible to as many of you as possible.

Looking ahead to our new programme, the first three meetings in 2010 areall at the Royal Wells Hotel, starting on 14th January with “The New PemburyHospital”. It should be said that this title was chosen long before the choice ofa formal name for the hospital became such a hotly debated matter. The storyof the multi-million pound project as a whole will be presented to us by theDevelopment Director, Graham Goddard.

On 11th February our speaker will be John Vigar, an acknowledged expert onchurch buildings, who will present “The Church’s Restoration”. This looksat the ways in which radical changes were made to parish churches in the 19th

century to increase their seating capacity, make them more comfortable, andcreate the “Church of England interior” which is so familiar to us all.

As an interesting and stark contrast to January’s presentation, on 11th Marchthere will be an illustrated talk by John Weeks on the long and often poignanthistory of the Pembury workhouse which, of course, eventually developedinto the (now rapidly disappearing) Pembury Hospital. John works in the NHSand knows about the hospital’s more recent history from the inside, and thisposition has helped him to gain access to a great deal of archival material onwhich his talk is based.

And finally at this stage, please be sure to note in your diary that the Awardsevening – our first for 18 months – will take place in the Christ Church Centreon Thursday 8th April at the usual start-time of 7.45 pm.

Roger Joye explains our change of venue, and previewsforthcoming talks

Future Events

Meetings start at 7.45 on the second Thursday in the month(unless otherwise stated). The location can vary, so please

check the details below. Please remember to bring yourmembership card. Visitors are welcome.

The views expressed in this Newsletter are those of the named author or of the editorand do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Society.

Published by the Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society.

Registered Charity No. 276545

‘The Church’s Restoration’ - illustrated talk by John Vigar.

‘The New Pembury Hospital’ - an update from DevelopmentDirector, Graham Goddard.

Jan14th

Feb11th

Mar11th

RTWCS Awards Evening 2010Apr8th

‘Bandages & Benevolence’ - John Weeks tells the historyof Pembury Workhouse.

Kent History Federation Annual Conferencehosted by RTWCS Local History Group(advance booking required - see p18)

May8th

(Sat)

Royal Wells Hotel, Mount Ephraim



Christ Church Centre, High Street

King Charles the Martyr Church

For previews of the first three of these events, please see p 23.

Royal Tunbridge Wells

Civic SocietyForthcoming Events

royal tunbridge wells civic society 2009.pdf · the answer lies in the hands of those civic society...

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