The Grove, Tunbridge Wells

By a deed of 1703, the self-styled ‘Earl of Buckingham' secured The Grove on Mount Sion, as ‘a grove, shade or walke for the benefit of the inhabitants, lodgers and servants of Tunbridge Wells'. An entrance arch in classical style was erected. Visitors to the spa climbed Sion Hill to walk or drive through the grove of wealden oaks.

The following text is taken from the Kent Compendium of Historic Parks and Gardens for Tunbridge Wells Borough:

The Grove (sometimes referred to as Mount Sion Grove) lies at the centre of an urban area of Tunbridge Wells (Mount Sion) which until the early C17 was a remote corner of the Manor of South Frith (Historical Atlas of Tunbridge Wells). The town of Tunbridge Wells takes its name from the neighbouring and much earlier Tonbridge (which was known as Tunbridge until the late C19), with 'Wells' denoting its status as a spa. Its development as a spa town and resort began in 1606 when it is said that Dudley, Lord North, discovered a chalybeate spring there (400 years of the Wells). Its popularity grew so greatly during the C17 that in 1684, Viscountess Purbeck, the owner of Mount Sion, realized its potential for development and began selling off plots of land to provide lodgings and other facilities for the visitors who came to take the waters.

The Grove, which was originally a small wood surrounded by open heathland, remained part of the Manor until April 1703 when Viscountess Purbeck's son, the Duke of Buckingham, placed the area in trust ‘to be continually preserved for a grove and shade, and walks, for the use of all the inhabitants' (Brackett). By 1738 Mount Sion was occupied by substantial properties, many of which were lodging houses (Bowra) and was described as ‘in the full bloom of prosperity' (Burr). In 1782 The Grove contained 200 oak and 10 beech trees surviving from the original wood as well as many smaller trees (Hasted) and is still shown as woodland on Greenwood's map of 1821. By 1830, however, the area appears to have been formally laid out with at least one tree-lined walk (Dodd), although this is not shown on the Tithe Map.

In 1863, many improvements were carried out under the direction of the Reverend William Law Pope, minister of King Charles' Church in the Pantiles and honorary curator of The Grove (Beavis). His actions in removing aging trees and replacing them with new ones led to accusations of vandalism, against which he defended himself in a pamphlet in 1868. By that date Pope had planted nearly 100 trees of 31 species, along with around 400 shrubs and argued for moving away from the exclusive use of oak and beech, saying that diversity ‘is suitable to a Grove, as distinguished from a wood' (Beavis). His publication lists the trees he planted as well as recording the land sold for development around The Grove and the effect on its mature trees of the new railway tunnel built below it. In 1876 The Grove is shown as laid out with a perimeter path, a main axis from south-west to north-east and a cross-axis from west to east (Pelton).

In 1889 the town of Tunbridge Wells was incorporated and the new Council, chaired by Tunbridge ware maker, Thomas Barton, took over the management of The Grove. He embellished it with ornamental gates, iron railings, seats and lamp standards, the Council's plan also showing the open space populated with mature trees (1889 plan). Changes were also made to the path layout and a bandstand (brought from Warrior Square, St Leonards) was installed (3rd edn OS map; postcards). Press cuttings describing Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 reported that The Grove held a spectacular musical event ‘almost Parisian in variety, beauty and extent' with ‘over 7000 coloured lamps and Chinese lanterns [and] festoons of fire on and around the fine old trees' (Beavis). A children's playground was introduced in 1899 and a summer pavilion for concert parties was added in the early years of the C20. A local resident of 1911 recalled ‘happy hours in The Grove: bowling our hoops, whipping tops, skipping, playing hide-and-seek in the shrubbery ... and chalking hopscotch markings on the paths ... much frowned on by the Grover, who was a sort of full-time caretaker and gardener' (Douglas).

During World War Two, much of The Grove, including the bandstand, was requisitioned by the military and the ornamental iron railings and gates were dismantled for the war effort (Beavis). In 1946, The Grove was in a poor state of repair; the bandstand was demolished and in 1947 a ‘scheme providing for the reinstatement and improvement' was recorded in Council minutes. Improvements continued in subsequent decades with new tree plantings and reinstatement of seats although the summer pavilion was dismantled.

During the October 1987 storm many trees were lost but a planned replanting scheme, promoted by the Friends of the Grove, is now (2009) beginning to mature. The site, which has a Green Flag Award, remains the property of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council whose policy is to preserve the landscape according to the aims and objectives of The Grove's benefactors while maintaining it to modern standards.

Type

Designed Urban Space

Purpose

Recreational/sport

Principal Building

Parks, Gardens And Urban Spaces

Survival

Extant

Open to the public

Yes