Tonbridge Friday Market

Scout Hut Lamberts Yard

Did you know that Tonbridge has a regular market every Friday? And, the most important thing here is that all the produce is local. Yes, LOCAL. It takes place in the little scout hut in Lamberts Yard and you can always spot it from a distance by the red, white and blue bunting that's hung up outside, or by a sign on the corner of Lamberts Yard and High Street pointing towards the indoor market.

I popped in last Friday to see what was on offer and spoke to one of the ladies who was selling farm eggs.  She told me that the market was started 57 years ago by the Tonbridge WI in a small building on the former Angel Ground. They then lost this facility, and moved to the the Sea Scouts' Hut on the river behind the Teen and Twenty building, where they remained for many years. Finally, they moved to the hut where they now hold the weekly market. It is apparently no longer WI run although the Institute do have a stall to sell their jams, preserves, marmalades and chutneys.

All the produce is fresh and local. The meat is freshly delivered from a local supplier. All the crafts are local too. There's even a beautiful seasonal plant stall. I arrived towards the end of the morning, and to be honest there had been a blitz of buying, so there wasn't much left. You can order items for the following week if you don't want to miss out on any of the produce. There's even small cafe serving home baked delicious cakes, tea and coffee and very reasonable prices. The cakes are delicious!!!!!! So what are you waiting for???

 

Tomorrow the Mayor will pay a visit to the market, and so I would imagine everyone will have made an effort to bake and bring their very best to the stalls. So it's a good time to go.  If you're in town pop along, have a look at what's on offer and I bet you won't leave without buying something. In fact, you'll probably make it a regular on your Friday 'things-to-do'.

Recognising Tonbridge Recognised

Recognising Tonbridge Feature

140 High Street, Tonbridge

This Recognising Tonbridge had more replies that any Recognising Tonbridge feature has ever had. Most of you who thought you had recognised the top of the dome were sure it was above Pizza Express on the Big Bridge.  However, if you look up when you are next passing the restaurant, you will notice that the dome is topped with a weather vane.

Dome on clock tower above Pizza Express

The featured dome is on the corner of Lamberts Yard and the High Street and nestles on the junction of the roof space, above what was the former Santander branch in the High Street.  Built in 1898 it is  typical of late Victorian architecture. It is well worth spending a few moments looking at it from the opposite side of the road, and trying to image what the building may have looked like a century ago.

It's sad to see this dignified old lady empty, but a planning application has been received by TMBC for a change of usage, so we will have to wait and see what that will be. Hopefully it will be befitting for what is afterall such a grand building.

Point of Reference

Bench mark on the former Methodist Church in East Street

Bench marks were used during the period of 1912 to 1921 as a point of reference for a measurement by Ordnance Survey surveyors.  These chiseled horizontal marks that surveyors made in walls, or permanent stone structures, consisted of an arrow below a horizontal line into which an angle iron could be placed for a leveling rod. These marks were introduced to record the height above their standard reference point of sea level at Newlyn in Cornwall.  If the exact height of a Bench mark is known, it follows that the exact height of a neighbour can be established, by measuring the difference in height with the process of spirit levelling. This all happened before the GPS satellite system took over.

The photograph above is of a Bench mark on the corner of a wall on the former Methodist Church in East Street.  There are two more known in the town.  One is chiseled into the wall of 38 High Street (Lamberts Yard) and another can be found on the wall of 10 Bordyke.

Is anyone is aware of further Benchmarks in Tonbridge?

Tonbridge Country Market

Preserves and Honey

Every Friday morning in a small weather worn hut in Lamberts Yard ladies, in fresh white aprons, sell their locally grown and homemade produce.  It's like going back in time. You have to get there early as the weekly homegrown harvest flies out of the door as quickly as it is put on the table, especially the cakes.  The tiny hut is crammed with jams, jellies, plants, meat, eggs, crafts and home baking.

Sarah - Alba of Tonbridge

Apple and Pear Juice manufacturers Alba of Tonbridge offer three varieties of pure apple juice - Cox a juice with a tangy bite, Royal Gala which produces a clear sweet flavour and Egremont Russet a full flavoured and nutty juice.  The apples are grown on the family farm in Postern Lane and their aim is to press the fruit on the same day as picking.  One couldn't ask for better than that.  The pears come from a neighbours orchard.  Sarah the producer is happy to talk about the manufacturing process and answer any questions.

The early bird catches the worm as far as this market is concerned - doors open at 8.30 and close at 11 on the dot.