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Monument details

HER Number:TQ 54 NE 3
Type of record:Monument
Name:Tonbridge town defences (course of)

Summary

Licence to enclose the town of Tonbridge with a wall, and to crenellate it, was granted by Henry III in 1259. None of the wall survives but parts of the ditch remain and the whole of the course maybe traced. The enclosure is completed by the Medway on the south and a tributary stream on the west. Some of the water from the latter may have been diverted to fill part, at least, of the ditch.


Grid Reference:TQ 59022 46716
Map Sheet:TQ54NE
Parish:TONBRIDGE, TONBRIDGE AND MALLING, KENT

Monument Types

  • TOWN DEFENCES (Medieval - 1259 AD to 1539 AD)
Protected Status:Scheduled Monument 1003599: Town banks

Full description

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[Extends from TQ 5879 4673 to TQ 5921 4645] Fosse [NR] Fosse [NR] (Site of) [NAT] (1) [See reproduction from Kent 50-12] Earthwork [NR] (four times) (2) Licence to enclose the town of Tonbridge with a wall, and to crenellate it, was granged by Henry III in 1259. None of the wall survives but parts of the ditch remain and the whole of the course maybe traced. The enclosure is completed by the Medway on the south and a tributary stream on the west. Some of the water from the latter mayhave been diverted to fill part, at least, of the ditch. (3-5) Short stretches of the inner bank, sometimes reduced to an outward facing scarp, with traces of the ditch, are visible here and there in open parts of the town. Published survey (1:2500, 1959) correct. (6) [TQ 591 468] In January 1976, excavations were carried out on Tonbridge's town defences. A clay bank c. 10 metres wide and standingc. 4.5 metres high without revetment was uncovered. A shallow ditch, c. 6 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep, lay outside. The presence of more material in the bank than could have been excavated from the ditch suggests that the defences may be contemporary with the diversion of the river, probably in the middle 13th century. The suggested position of the medieval gate, adjacent to High Street, was also excavated and the front face of the bank was located; there was no evidence of the gate, which presumably lies under the present road.(7-11)

From English Heritage Records Office
Defences of the town of Tonbridge would appear to have consisted of an earth bank with external ditch - there is no sign of masonry. Two sections of this defence remain. 1) Length abt 80yds E of Stafford Rd. Bank abt 15-20ft high above filled in ditch. 2) Length abt 70yds S of Bordyke Bank abt 6ft high above filled in ditch.(1)
1) Length E of Stafford Rd, and adjoining Cattle Market as on AM7, ditch is filled although still traceable beyond scheduled area at NE end. 2) Length E of High St entirely in gardens.(2)
Additional scheduled area comprises a section of town defences running E from the already scheduled section E of Stafford Rd to the corner of Lansdowne Rd and High St.(5)
At E end of additional SA the defences are visible as a scarp, under cut grass, with traces of ditch to the N. Further W the scarp is under rough grass and bushes with trees along the top. To W of access road running S from Lansdowne Rd the profile is somewhat obscured, under vegetation, nettles, bushes and trees. Original scheduling E of Stafford Rd still has much tree and bush growth.(6)
Additional scheduled area E of Stafford Rd to the corner of Lansdowne Rd and High St : At E end of this section only the base of ditch remains. The scarp bank has been bulldozed away by the development contractors. Further W the scarp still has trees along its top. There has been some earth removal but the profile is less affected than it is to the E.
Length of Town Banks abt 70yds S of Bordyke : Bank is prominent, shrub and tree covered, running along the bank of 2 private gardens.(7)
Input/last edited 19-04-1989

Summary of Monument

The medieval town defences of Tonbridge
Reasons for Designation

Between the Roman and post-medieval periods a large number of English Towns were provided with defences. Construction of these reached its peak in around 1300 although many were then maintained for many centuries thereafter. The defences could take the form of earthen banks, ditches or masonry walls or a combination of all three. They were constructed to mark the limits of the town or its intended size and could be used to defend the town in times of trouble. Their symbolic role in marking out the settlement and its importance was also significant and thus many defensive circuits included well built and visually impressive water-filled moats, walls and gateways. In the medieval period the development of towns was closely associated with major landowners and many towns were deliberately established next to major castles so that their lordly owners could influence and gain from the important market, trade and other functions of the developing urban centres. Despite damage in the past, the medieval town defences of Tonbridge survive well as a visible feature in the landscape. The defences will contain archaeological information and environmental evidence relating to the walls and the landscape in which they were constructed.
History

See Details
Details

This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes the medieval town defences of Tonbridge, in three separate areas of protection, surviving as earthworks and below-ground remains. They are situated on gently sloping ground north of the River Medway and Tonbridge Castle. The earthworks include a bank with external ditch. The bank is approximately 10m wide and up to about 4.5m high. The ditch has partly become in-filled in the past where it instead survives as a buried feature approximately 6m wide and 2.5m deep. There are two lengths of the northern defences of the medieval town. Here the ditch is on the northern side of the bank. One runs ENE from Stratford Road to Lansdown road. A second length runs from Landsdown road to the High Street. The defences in this second length have been partially mutilated or levelled following development, where they will instead survive as buried remains. A length of the eastern defences of the medieval town survives to the south-east of St Peter and St Paul’s Church. It lies in the rear gardens of The Cedars and The Hermitage (No.22 East Street) and runs south, beginning in the vicinity of Bordyke, towards East Street. Here the ditch is to the east of the bank.

In 1259 Henry III granted licence to enclose the town of Tonbridge with a wall, and to crenellate it. The wall is no longer thought to survive. However remains of the defensive bank and ditch are still visible and the generally course of the town defences has been traced. The enclosure is completed by the River Medway on the south and a tributary stream, Hilden Brook, on the west. Some of the water from the latter may have been diverted to fill part, at least, of the ditch. The defences are recorded on Ordnance Survey maps (1:2500) of 1867, 1897 and 1908. They were partially excavated in 1976 and the bank was shown to comprise of clay, partly extracted from the ditch.

Further archaeological remains survive in the vicinity of this monument but are not included because they have not been formally assessed.(13)

Description (14)


<1> OS 25"1896 (OS Card Reference). SKE48287.

<2> OS 1:25OO 1959 (OS Card Reference). SKE48228.

<3> Calendar of Patent Rolls 1258-66 108 (OS Card Reference). SKE38478.

<4> JBAA 3rd Series 5 1940 72 (W D Simpson) (OS Card Reference). SKE44956.

<5> VCH Kent 1 1908 425 plan (I C Gould) (OS Card Reference). SKE50892.

<6> F1 ASP 28-JAN-63 (OS Card Reference). SKE42332.

<7> Md Arch 17 1973 169 (OS Card Reference). SKE46586.

<8> KAR 45 1976 128 (A Webster) (OS Card Reference). SKE45344.

<9> Arch Excav 1972 HMSO 89-90 (J Money) (OS Card Reference). SKE36494.

<10> Arch Cant 87 1972 230 (C B Giles) (OS Card Reference). SKE35896.

<11> Arch Cant 92 1976 105-118 illus (A D F Streeten) (OS Card Reference). SKE36074.

<12> Field report for monument TQ 54 NE 3 - January, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE2715.

<13> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

<14> A. D. Saunders Victor Smith, 2001, Kent's Defence Heritage (Collection). SKE53677.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>OS Card Reference: OS 25"1896.
<2>OS Card Reference: OS 1:25OO 1959.
<3>OS Card Reference: Calendar of Patent Rolls 1258-66 108.
<4>OS Card Reference: JBAA 3rd Series 5 1940 72 (W D Simpson).
<5>OS Card Reference: VCH Kent 1 1908 425 plan (I C Gould).
<6>OS Card Reference: F1 ASP 28-JAN-63.
<7>OS Card Reference: Md Arch 17 1973 169.
<8>OS Card Reference: KAR 45 1976 128 (A Webster).
<9>OS Card Reference: Arch Excav 1972 HMSO 89-90 (J Money).
<10>OS Card Reference: Arch Cant 87 1972 230 (C B Giles).
<11>OS Card Reference: Arch Cant 92 1976 105-118 illus (A D F Streeten).
<12>Bibliographic reference: Field report for monument TQ 54 NE 3 - January, 1963.
<13>XYIndex: Historic England. National Heritage List for England. [Mapped feature: #7912 Medieval defences, ]
<14>Collection: A. D. Saunders Victor Smith. 2001. Kent's Defence Heritage.

Related records

TQ 54 NE 80Parent of: Tonbridge town defences behind 19 Lyons Crescent, Tonbridge (Monument)

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