Pembury is a large village in Kent, in the south east of England, with a population of 6,128 at the 2011 Census.[1] It lies just to the north-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells.
A settlement in Pembury almost certainly predates the Norman Conquest, as the village church of St Peter is of Norman origin. It is thought to have been built in the early 12th or late 11th century, though the earliest it can be dated with certainty is to 1337, when John Culpeper of Bayhall carried out building work to the church.[3][4]
The first recorded mention of Pembury is as "Peppingeberia" in the 12th-century Textus Roffensis, though Edward Hasted states that it was also known in ancient deeds as "Pepenbery".[3][5]
With the widespread introduction of the motor vehicle in the early 20th century, Pembury Hospital hosted a centre of groundbreaking research and treatment for hodophobia (fear of road travel). Some of the original test subjects settled in Pembury, and many of their descendants still live in the village today. [citation needed]
In late January 2010, the remains of an Iron Age settlement were discovered along the route of South East Water's planned 2.9 miles of pipes between Pembury and Kipping's Cross Service Reservoir. Tim Allen from Kent Archaeological Project said: "We have found evidence of postholes, pits and ditches, probably part of an Iron Age dwelling, along with pieces of pottery that we can date to the late Iron Age. We also found evidence of a medieval enclosure further along the route and five circular, fire-scorched pits, probably parts of ancient hearths or kilns or evidence of charcoal production." [citation needed]
The history of Pembury may now stretch as far back as 750 BCE. [citation needed]
The village is within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The landscape around Pembury is dominated by steep-sided valleys and undulating slopes. The area is predominantly agricultural, with scattered copses and more extensive, usually deciduous woodland.[2] Many local woodlands are used for coppicing.
With soils in the High Weald being relatively poor, early farming in the area would have been dominated by grazing. Between 1600 and 1800, agriculture grew to be the primary activity, with top fruits, cereals, coppicing and hops being the main products.[2] Few hops are grown today, although the landscape continues to be dominated by fruit orchards.
Evolution of the village
Until the early 20th century, Pembury remained a small rural village, with five distinct hamlets: Upper Green, Lower Green, Hawkwell, Bo-Peep and Romford. These merged during the 20th century, particularly the latter half, when several large private housing estates were developed including Woodhill Park, Ridgeway and Beagleswood.[2]
Village green
The village green, originally known as Copingcrouch Green, was first recorded on a map in 1629. The green was until recently dominated by a large horse chestnut tree and has developed as the focal point of the village. The Camden Arms hotel, which overlooks the green from its south side, was developed as a coaching inn to meet the needs of travellers along the London to Hastings road.[2]
The new hospital was built by Laing O'Rourke at a cost of around £226 million.[6] It opened in September 2011. The new hospital was the first acute NHS hospital in Britain where every inpatient has their own room with en-suite facilities, with ceiling to floor windows revealing views over surrounding woodland.[6]
Kent College
Kent College, Pembury is a girls' independent boarding and day school. It was established in Folkestone in 1886 by the Wesleyan Methodist Schools' Association, but moved to Pembury in 1939 and is now an interdenominational Christian school. The school occupies a Victorian manor house, set in a 75-acre estate, adjacent to Pembury Old Church.
War memorial
In January 2012, it was discovered by local historian Richard Snow that several of the names on the war memorial were misspelled.[7]
The War Memorial in Hastings Road was unveiled and dedicated on Sunday 25 September 1921 by Rev. Sinclair Brooke, M.A., Vicar of Pembury 1898–1918. The site was given by the Marquis Camden, and the Portland Stone Memorial stands 16 feet high and cost £365 19/4d, which apparently took quite a long time to raise. It was designed by well-known local Architects Ashley S. Kilby and the work was carried out by Messrs. Burslem and Sons of Tunbridge Wells. The Service included the Last Post and Reveille and the National Anthem at the end of the Service. The Roll of Honour was read by Mr C.R. Bosanquet.
In 1949 a metal plaque was placed over the original stone-carved names for the WW1 names and a new metal plaque below recorded the WW2 names. Local historian Richard Snow discovered 8 spelling errors and on 11 November 2018 the newly refurbished War Memorial stone-carved plaques were unveiled by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent, Lord Colgrain. The metal plaques were removed and replaced by newly carved stone plaques carried out by Burslems of Tunbridge Wells, who created the original plaques. The full story is told on a local DVD "Pembury Remembers" made by David Doré available from Pembury Library.
The old stone plaques were mounted on the playground wall of Pembury Primary School in February 2019.
Demography
Pembury compared
2001 UK Census
Pembury
Tunbridge Wells district
England
Population
6,005
104,030
49,138,831
Foreign born
5.7%
7.1%
9.2%
White
97.5%
97.5%
90.9%
Asian
1.2%
1%
4.6%
Black
0.3%
0.3%
2.3%
Christian
76.3%
75%
71.7%
Muslim
0.4%
0.6%
3.1%
Hindu
0.4%
0.2%
1.1%
No religion
15.3%
16%
14.6%
Unemployed
1.6%
1.9%
3.3%
Retired
14.1%
13.3%
13.5%
At the 2001 UK census, the Pembury electoral ward had a population of 6,005. The ethnicity was 97.5% white, 0.8% mixed race, 1.2% Asian, 0.3% black and 0.2% other. The place of birth of residents was 94.3% United Kingdom, 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 1.5% other Western European countries, and 3.7% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 76.3% Christian, 0.1% Buddhist, 0.4% Hindu, 0.1% Sikh, 0.1% Jewish, and 0.4% Muslim. 15.3% were recorded as having no religion, 0.1% had an alternative religion and 7.2% did not state their religion.[8]
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 41.7% in full-time employment, 14.3% in part-time employment, 11.1% self-employed, 1.6% unemployed, 2.6% students with jobs, 3% students without jobs, 14.1% retired, 6.8% looking after home or family, 3.1% permanently sick or disabled and 1.8% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 16.2% retail, 10.4% manufacturing, 7.8% construction, 13.4% real estate, 15.2% health and social work, 8.3% education, 6% transport and communications, 4.8% public administration, 3% hotels and restaurants, 7.9% finance, 1.8% agriculture and 5.2% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in finance, and health and social work. There were a relatively low proportion in manufacturing, and hotels and restaurants. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 22.2% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.[8]
Religious sites
The parish church of St Peter
Usually referred to as the "Old Church", the parish church is located in woods outside the village, near Kent College and the waterworks north of the A228. It was first built in the late 11th or early 12th century, although most of the present church was added in 1337.[2][9]
The district church of St Peter
St Peter's Upper Church, Pembury
The District Church of St Peter, usually referred to as the "Upper Church" was built in 1847 on land donated by the Marquess Camden of Bayham. Built from local sandstone, also donated by the Marquess, it was erected on one of the highest points in the village. The church was built as a "Chapel of Ease" to serve the expanding communities around the village green who were some distance away from the old church.[2]
The clock on the tower was added in 1872 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the church.[10] A 92 foot high spire was added to the tower in 1886 but was removed exactly one hundred years later as it had become unsafe.[2]
Other churches
Pembury Baptist Church
Pembury Baptist Church is located in Romford Road.
Pembury has two bypasses, both constructed in the mid-1980s. The A21 bypass is a dual-carriageway road running through lower ground to the south of the village between the Longfield Road roundabout near North Farm, Tunbridge Wells and the Kippings Cross roundabout to the east of the village. Prior to the construction of this bypass, vehicles travelling between London and Hastings had to drive through the village centre via the High Street and Hastings Road.
The A228 bypass is a single-carriageway road passing through woodland to the north and west of the village, linking Woodsgate Corner and the A264 with Maidstone Road at the northern end of the village near Pippins Farm and Downingbury Farm.
Jonny Williams (b. 1993), professional footballer, born in Pembury
Related Research Articles
Tonbridge is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, 4 miles (6 km) north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles (19 km) south west of Maidstone and 29 miles (47 km) south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population of 41,293 in 2019.
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, 30 miles southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. The town was a spa in the Restoration and a fashionable resort in the mid-1700s under Beau Nash when the Pantiles, and its chalybeate spring, attracted visitors who wished to take the waters. Though its popularity as a spa town waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town still derives much of its income from tourism.
Paddock Wood is a town and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England, about 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Maidstone. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 8,263, falling marginally to 8,253 at the 2011 Census. Paddock Wood is a centre for hop growing.
Tonbridge and Malling is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. The council is based at Kings Hill. The borough also includes the towns of Tonbridge and Snodland along with numerous villages including Aylesford, West Malling and surrounding rural areas.
The A21 is a trunk road in Southern England, one of several which connect London and various commuter towns to the south coast. It provides a link to Hastings, East Sussex and parts of Kent. Half of the distance covered is over gently undulating terrain, with some hills and bends. Often traffic is slow-moving, particularly on weekdays on the short single carriageway stretches; and in summer with holiday traffic. Because of this, people have described the A21 as "a joke" and businesspeople have been reported to "hate coming down the A21". There have been many proposals to upgrade parts of the A21 in response to this.
Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around 12 miles (19 km) south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Goudhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. It lies in the Weald, around 12 miles (19 km) south of Maidstone, on the crossroads of the A262 and B2079.
Kings Hill is a civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It is one of several new villages built in Kent since the 1950s. Development started in 1989 near West Malling, on land previously occupied by RAF West Malling. The plan was for a multi-purpose site of both residential and office/business space.
West Malling is a market town in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, England. It has a population of 2,590.
Benenden is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The parish is located on the Weald, 6 miles (10 km) to the west of Tenterden. In addition to the main village, Iden Green, East End, Dingleden and Standen Street settlements are included in the parish.
The A26 road is a primary route in the southeast of England, going from Maidstone to Newhaven through the counties of Kent and East Sussex. The road is almost entirely single carriageway with one lane on each side, although parts of the road are three lanes, with the middle lane switching sides for overtaking and right turns.
East Peckham is a village and civil parish in Kent, England on the River Medway. The parish covers the main village as well as Hale Street and Beltring.
The A228 road is an important transport artery in Kent, England. It begins at the Isle of Grain and runs in a south-westerly direction to connect eventually with the A21 trunk road at Pembury. It serves existing communities and new and proposed housing developments and commercial enterprises. The most influential force on the recent upgrading of the road has been the development of Kings Hill near West Malling.
The A264 is an east–west road in southern England that runs from Pembury in west Kent to Five Oaks in West Sussex.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust is a large NHS Trust in the English National Health Service that manages hospitals in Kent, primarily managing Maidstone Hospital and Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury. It took over the Crowborough Birthing Centre, formerly run by East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust in November 2015.
Iden Green is a small village, near Benenden, in the county of Kent. It belongs to the civil parish of Benenden and the Tunbridge Wells Borough District of Kent, in the South East of England.
Tunbridge Wells Hospital is a large district general hospital in Pembury near Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, run by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. The hospital is located on Tonbridge Road, around 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) to the north-west of Pembury, close to the A21 trunk road. It is surrounded by woodland on three sides.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
