Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Tunbridge Wells

TUNBRIDGE WELLS, an inland watering-place of England, chiefly in Kent but partly in Sussex, is situated in the midst of charming and picturesque scenery, on the South- Eastern Railway and at the terminus of a branch line of the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway, 46 miles (by rail) south-east of London and 5 south of Tunbridge. It owes its popularity to its chalybeate spring and its romantic situation. The wells are situated near the Parade (or Pantiles), a walk associated with fashion .since the time of their discovery. The houses and shops in the Parade somewhat resemble the Rows at Chester. It was paved with pantiles in the reign of Queen Anne. The town is built in a picturesquely irregular manner, and a large part of it consists of districts called " parks," occupied by villas and mansions. On Rusthall common, about a mile from the town, is the curiously shaped Toad Rock, and about a mile south-west the striking group called High Rocks. The principal public buildings are the pump-room, the town-hall, the corn exchange, the public hall, the mechanics institute, the friendly society's hall, the dispensary and infirmary, and the provident dispensary. The Tunbridge Wells sanatorium is situated in grounds sixty acres in extent, and is capable of receiving 150 visiters. There is a large trade in Tunbridge ware, which is made chiefly at Tunbridge, and includes work tables, boxes, toys, etc., made of hard woods, such as beech, sycamore, holly, and cherry, and inlaid with mosaic. The town is governed by a local board of twenty-four members. The population of the urban sanitary district (area 3351 acres) in 1871 was 19,410 and in 1881 24,308.

The town owes its rise to the discovery of the medicinal springs by Dudley, Lord North, in 1606. Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I., retired to drink the waters at Tunbridge after the birth of her eldest son Charles. Soon after the Restoration it was visited by Charles II. and Catherine of Braganza. It was a favourite residence of Anne previous to her accession, and from that time became one of the special resorts of London fashion. It reached the height of its comparative popularity in the latter half of the 18th century, and is specially associated with Colley Cibber, Samuel Johnson, Cumberland the dramatist, Garrick, Richardson, Reynolds, Beau Nash, Miss Chudleigh, and Mrs Thrale. The Tunbridge of that period is sketched with much graphic humour in Thackeray's Virginians. Though it still attracts an increasing number of visiters, its importance in reference to London society has considerably declined.