Tunbridge Wells, a charming inland watering-place, on the border of Kent and Sussex, 5 miles S. of Tunbridge and 34½ SSE. of London. It occupies the head and slopes of one of the valleys of the Weald, and has in general a south-west aspect, commanding very fine views. The chalybeate waters, situated at the end of a parade called the 'Pantiles,' were discovered by Lord North in 1606, and patronised in 1630 by Henrietta Maria. Puritans also resorted hither, and to them the place owes such names as Mounts Ephraim and Sion; whilst among later visitors have been Catharine of Braganza, Evelyn, Queen Anne, 'Beau' Nash, Richard Cumberland, Dr Johnson, Richardson, Garrick, Chatham, and Queen Victoria. There are a breezy common of 170 acres, a church (1685) in two counties and three parishes, a public hall (1870), a new pump-room (1877), a friendly societies' hall (1878), and a considerable trade in 'Tunbridge ware.' The season lasts from July to September. Tunbridge Wells was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1889. Pop. (1851) 10,587; (1891) 27,895.
See works by J. Britton (1832) and, on the flora, by R. Deakin (1871); also Macaulay's third chapter, and Thackeray's Virginians.