Southborough, Kent
Created | Updated Jul 22, 2005
A brief guide to the Town of Southborough, located in the county of Kent, South East England.
In the county of Kent, England, to the west of the county, on the border with East Sussex. North of Royal Tunbridge Wells and to the South of Tonbridge, located on the A26. Out to the borders of Speldhurst to the west and High Brooms to the East. The town covers around 1,760 acres and has a population of around 11,000.
Arrowheads and stone axe heads provide evidence of prehistoric habitation of Southborough. The Manor of Southborough was included in the Manor of Tunbridge and was held by the families of Clare, Audley and Stafford until 1521 when Edward de Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, was beheaded on Tower Hill and the estates reverted back to the Crown. The Manor of Southborough was separated from Tonbridge and Henry VIII gave the estate to George Boleyn, brother of Anne.
The Common of Southborough (now owned by the Town Council) has always been part of the Manorial Holding. It was originally around 30 acres larger but between 1790 and 1810 portions were enclosed so that the total area now is 71 acres. Under the Commons Registration Act of 1965 a number of persons registered their rights as Commoners.
The valley to the east of Southborough was part of the Royal Forest of Southfrith until about the middle of the 16th century and was reserved by Royalty for hunting. It was then found to be ideal for iron smelting, the ore lying close to the surface and extracted from “bell pits”. A water-powered furnace known as Vauxhall Furnace was situated near Mote Farm in Vauxhall Lane and the iron smelted here was worked at a forge near the viaduct in Powder Mill Lane.
Until the middle of the nineteenth century employment in Southborough was mainly centred on agriculture with the necessary trades of blacksmiths, coach builders and harness makers. The town consisted of a number of isolated hamlets including Nonsuch Green, Holden Corner, Modest Corner and a few houses near the Common. High Brooms was a desolate tract inhabited by gypsies and vagabonds.
The town was now becoming renowned for the manufacture of cricket balls. The first recorded makers of cricket balls were Philip Wickham and Joseph Smith of Modest Corner and many other cricket ball makers set up business including Thomas Twort and John Martin in 1853. At this time Southborough was still a parish of the town of Tonbridge.
Southborough began to expand rapidly from 1879 when the Holden Estate was sold and laid out to accommodate 165 new dwellings. The High Brooms Brick and Tile Company started to build houses for its employees and the area expanded. Southborough separated from Tonbridge in 1871 when its own Board of Health was formed. In 1874 it became an Urban District Council with its own elected Council to manage its affairs and continued to do so until 1974 when local government was reorganised.
The town was twinned with the town of Lambersart in France in 1992 and regular exchange visits take place between the two towns.
The Royal Victoria Hall Theatre - The Royal Victoria Hall Theatre was the first municipal theatre built in England under the Local Government Act 1894. It was erected to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria and was opened in 1900. The original cost of the building was £5,000, towards which the late Sir David Salomons, a local landowner, contributed £3,000.
Pennington Grounds, Pennington Road – This well laid out formal recreational area includes a bowls green, four hard tennis courts, crazy golf, golf putting and a well-equipped play ground.
Yew Tree Road Playing Fields – Home of the Association of Southborough Football Clubs, this playing field plays host to both junior and senior teams throughout the football season.
Holden Pond – A delightful tranquil spot that is very popular with local fishermen.
The War Memorial, Church Road – Every year the Service of Remembrance is held at the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday.
Southborough Library - Yew Tree Road, next to the fire station, offers a good non-fiction section and weekly storytime for Children. Also has internet access fax/photocopying facilities.
The town has various shops along the Main London Road and in the surrounding roads, but to be honest you are better off shopping in Tunbridge Wells or at Bluewater just up the A21.
The town has a fairly relaxed atmosphere where everyone is generally friendly. The local youth are not too obtrusive even though they have very little facilities in the area. The main A26 going through the town spoils the atmosphere to some extent and you can hear the constant rumbling of cars from most areas of town. The town centre is fairly rundown and needing some refurbishment, the town council have been promising this for years but it never happens due to various financing problems.
Here are some links for Southborough:
Location
In the county of Kent, England, to the west of the county, on the border with East Sussex. North of Royal Tunbridge Wells and to the South of Tonbridge, located on the A26. Out to the borders of Speldhurst to the west and High Brooms to the East. The town covers around 1,760 acres and has a population of around 11,000.
History
Arrowheads and stone axe heads provide evidence of prehistoric habitation of Southborough. The Manor of Southborough was included in the Manor of Tunbridge and was held by the families of Clare, Audley and Stafford until 1521 when Edward de Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, was beheaded on Tower Hill and the estates reverted back to the Crown. The Manor of Southborough was separated from Tonbridge and Henry VIII gave the estate to George Boleyn, brother of Anne.
The Common of Southborough (now owned by the Town Council) has always been part of the Manorial Holding. It was originally around 30 acres larger but between 1790 and 1810 portions were enclosed so that the total area now is 71 acres. Under the Commons Registration Act of 1965 a number of persons registered their rights as Commoners.
The valley to the east of Southborough was part of the Royal Forest of Southfrith until about the middle of the 16th century and was reserved by Royalty for hunting. It was then found to be ideal for iron smelting, the ore lying close to the surface and extracted from “bell pits”. A water-powered furnace known as Vauxhall Furnace was situated near Mote Farm in Vauxhall Lane and the iron smelted here was worked at a forge near the viaduct in Powder Mill Lane.
Until the middle of the nineteenth century employment in Southborough was mainly centred on agriculture with the necessary trades of blacksmiths, coach builders and harness makers. The town consisted of a number of isolated hamlets including Nonsuch Green, Holden Corner, Modest Corner and a few houses near the Common. High Brooms was a desolate tract inhabited by gypsies and vagabonds.
The town was now becoming renowned for the manufacture of cricket balls. The first recorded makers of cricket balls were Philip Wickham and Joseph Smith of Modest Corner and many other cricket ball makers set up business including Thomas Twort and John Martin in 1853. At this time Southborough was still a parish of the town of Tonbridge.
Southborough began to expand rapidly from 1879 when the Holden Estate was sold and laid out to accommodate 165 new dwellings. The High Brooms Brick and Tile Company started to build houses for its employees and the area expanded. Southborough separated from Tonbridge in 1871 when its own Board of Health was formed. In 1874 it became an Urban District Council with its own elected Council to manage its affairs and continued to do so until 1974 when local government was reorganised.
The town was twinned with the town of Lambersart in France in 1992 and regular exchange visits take place between the two towns.
Facilities
The Royal Victoria Hall Theatre - The Royal Victoria Hall Theatre was the first municipal theatre built in England under the Local Government Act 1894. It was erected to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria and was opened in 1900. The original cost of the building was £5,000, towards which the late Sir David Salomons, a local landowner, contributed £3,000.
Pennington Grounds, Pennington Road – This well laid out formal recreational area includes a bowls green, four hard tennis courts, crazy golf, golf putting and a well-equipped play ground.
Yew Tree Road Playing Fields – Home of the Association of Southborough Football Clubs, this playing field plays host to both junior and senior teams throughout the football season.
Holden Pond – A delightful tranquil spot that is very popular with local fishermen.
The War Memorial, Church Road – Every year the Service of Remembrance is held at the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday.
Southborough Library - Yew Tree Road, next to the fire station, offers a good non-fiction section and weekly storytime for Children. Also has internet access fax/photocopying facilities.
Shops
The town has various shops along the Main London Road and in the surrounding roads, but to be honest you are better off shopping in Tunbridge Wells or at Bluewater just up the A21.
Atmosphere
The town has a fairly relaxed atmosphere where everyone is generally friendly. The local youth are not too obtrusive even though they have very little facilities in the area. The main A26 going through the town spoils the atmosphere to some extent and you can hear the constant rumbling of cars from most areas of town. The town centre is fairly rundown and needing some refurbishment, the town council have been promising this for years but it never happens due to various financing problems.
Links
Here are some links for Southborough:
