Edenbridge
| Edenbridge | |
| Kent | |
|---|---|
 Edenbridge | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ445465 |
| Location: | 51°11’57"N, -0°4’9"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 7,808 (2001) |
| Post town: | Edenbridge |
| Postcode: | TN8 |
| Dialling code: | 01732 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Sevenoaks |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Tonbridge and Malling |
Edenbridge is a town in Kent. It is found in western Kent, close by the border with Surrey, which is marked here by the Kent Brook. Edenbridge is on the upper floodplain of the River Medway and gives its name to a tributary of the Medway which flows through the town, the River Eden. Edenbridge has a population of around 8,000.
The town's name derives from Old English language Eadhelmesbricge ("Eadhelm's Bridge").
The town
A bypass that was built in the early 2000s to relieve traffic pressure on the old, narrow High Street. There are several banks in the town, a post office, which is next to the church, and a number of majotr retailers.
Within the parish boundary is the hamlet of Marsh Green.
Parish church
The 13th century church dedicated to St Peter and St Paul contains a set of windows in the east wall by Sir Edward Burne-Jones.
History
The old part of the town grew along a section of the otherwise disused Roman road, the London to Lewes Way at the point where it crossed the river. Iron slag from iron smelting in the surrounding area was used in building the road. In the Middle Ages, it became a centre of the Wealden iron industry. There are many mediæval timber buildings in the town, one of which houses the Eden Valley Museum.
With the coming of the railways the town expanded and the community of Marlpit Hill, north of the original settlement, is now part of the town.
Mills
Edenbridge has had four mills over the centuries, Haxted Mill (across in Surrey) and Honour's Mill on the River Eden, Christmas Mill on a tributary of the Eden, and a windmill to the south of the town. All four mill buildings survive, but now converted to other uses.
The coming of the railways
There are two railway stations serving Edenbridge. The earliest, on the South Eastern Railway (SER) route from Redhill to Tonbridge, was opened on 26 May 1842. The station, simply named "Edenbridge", is located in Marlpit Hill. To the west of that station the route crosses what was once the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway main line from London to Eastbourne, opened on 2 January 1888. The crossing of the two lines takes place at a mid-break in the Edenbridge Tunnel on the SER line. Here lies the second station, named "Edenbridge Town". The line serving it is now truncated at Uckfield. There is no connection here between the two routes: Edenbridge is not a junction; one existed four miles to the west of Edenbridge Town at Crowhurst, but that junction no longer exists.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Edenbridge) |