Tonbridge Daily Snippet

The earliest mentions of a inn on the corner of Avebury Avenue  and High Street were references to a 'messuage' or inn called 'le Aungell'.

In the 19th century a new Angel was built on the opposite side of the road on the corner of Vale Road and The High Street. This well known building was demolished in the 1970's and a supermarket was the first business to appear on the new site. It is now Poundstretchers.

The Angel Hotel

Below is a 1924 advertisement for the former Angel Hotel which was on the site where Poundstretchers now stands. This was a time when stabling, loose boxes and even a garage, for the rare motor car that ventured through the town, were available for guests

The Angel Hotel

Private and Commercial

Opposite Railway Station

County Cricket Ground is near

Close to Sports Ground and River

Moderate Terms

GOOD STABLING

GARAGE

LOOSE BOXES

A.A. Robertson, Proprietor

Bygone Tonbridge

This advertisement is for the former High Street Watchmaker, Jeweller & Optician, A Cornell  and features in a guide to Tonbridge c1912. The photograph is approximately 100 years old and illustrates a time when there was a great pride in window display. The building style is of a typical late-Victorian design, topped with decorative wrought iron.

One can only imagine that the majority of Tonbridge High Street was filled with rows of magnificent shop frontages similar to A. Cornell's business in this image. It is a sad affair that Tonbridge has lost much of its architectural heritage due to unsympathetic planning.

A Cornell and a number of equally interesting neighbouring buildings were demolished, and would have stood next the former Angel Hotel, where Poundstretchers is currently sited.