Five High Street Bridges

Wall Plaque Marking Piper's Stream Bridge

Tonbridge once had five High Street bridges.   Today only two remain and are affectionally known as the Big Bridge and the Little Bridge.  So what happened to the other bridges and even more interesting where did the water disappear to that they crossed?

A bridge apparently crossed a waterway that ran under the High Street and through the Botany,  A second small stream, named Cann's stream flowed behind Bartram's Brewery (yes ... Tonbridge did have its own brewery).  This stream would have flowed under and through what is now Weatherspoons beer garden, or close to that area.  This too had a bridge in the High Street.  The third bridge that was lost spanned Piper's stream and was named after Mr. Piper a local business man whose trade was situated alongside the water.  A plaque set into a newly rendered and pebbledashed wall marks the spot where this third small bridge crossed Piper's stream in the High Street.  This can be found close to Boots Opticians.

So what happened to the water?  It seems that parts of the stretches were filled in and other parts diverted into the main river.