How just one vowel came to define two towns

Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells are both pronounced so the first part of the names rhyme with “sun”.

It’s perhaps not surprising then that some people from outside the area still misspell Tonbridge as Tunbridge, confusing it with Tunbridge Wells. But are they really wrong? It transpires that Tunbridge - with a U - was an historic spelling, with references dating back to the 16th century and beyond.

“Tun” is an ancient word for farm or manor.

The “bridge” may simply be a reference to the the town having a bridge over the Medway, or it may be a corruption of an older word “burig” meaning a fort.

For some reason, from around the early 1800s, the name began to be spelt both ways, with an O and U.

Perhaps the townsfolk wanted to distinguish themselves from their increasingly pretentious neighbour of Tunbridge Wells.

Several local manufacturers who originally sold their wares as being from Tunbridge began changing the spelling to Tonbridge.

Among them was the mineral water manufacturer John Salkeld Horsely, based at the Masonic Buildings near to the Great Bridge.

Some of his “B” Mineral Water bottles survive with both spellings.

Another was Thomas Pawley, the proprietor of the Rose and Crown pub in the High Street. He sold his wines and spirits from earthenware jars and again examples survive with both spellings.

In 1870, Mr Pawley was a member of the board of commerce who decided that in future the tradesman would adopted the O spelling exclusively.

Most followed their example, but the Post Office held out.

It wasn’t until February 7, 1893, that it was recommended to the Postmaster General that he grant the town’s request for its name to be officially spelt with an O. A copy of the letter reads: “I submit Memorials from the Tunbridge local board and the Ratepayers Associations, asking the spelling Tonbridge may be adopted by the department.

“As it appears to be from the Surveyors report the form of the name is commonly adopted by public bodies and the residents in the town generally.

“I think the request should be granted and if you approve I will issue instructions for the name to be spelt on the date stamps and on all official documents.”

The request was officially approved a month later.

However, Southern Railway didn’t change the spelling of its station name until 1929.

And yet there was still more confusion to come.

Pigots 1839 town directory gave the spellings of the two towns as Tonbridge and Tonbridge Wells.

Our thanks go to Shaun Jeffery for the use of his photographs. A visit to his website: www.tonbridgecollectables.com is also highly recommended. Cinema adverts taken from the Kent Messenger of September 20, 1968, remind us not only did Maidstone used to have far more cinemas than today, but even West Malling had its own.

The Raymar Cinema was housed in a wooden building in Norman Road originally a badminton hall. In 1951 a couple called Ray and Mary Halkes moved from Dover to West Malling and converted it into the 240-