| Edenbridge | |
|---|---|
 The old town | |
  Edenbridge Location withinKent | |
| Population | 7,808 [1] 8,907 (2011 Census)[2] |
| OS grid reference | TQ445465 |
| • London | 18 mi (29 km) |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | EDENBRIDGE |
| Postcode district | TN8 |
| Dialling code | 01732 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°11′49″N0°03′54″E / 51.197°N 0.065°E /51.197; 0.065 | |
Edenbridge is atown andcivil parish in theSevenoaks district ofKent, England. Its name derives fromOld EnglishEadhelmsbrigge (meaning "Eadhelm's Bridge"). It is located on the border of Kent andSurrey, on the upperfloodplain of theRiver Medway and takes its name from that river's tributary, theRiver Eden. The town had a population of 7,808 in 2011.
The old part of the town grew along a section of the otherwise disusedRoman road, theLondon to Lewes Way at the point where it crossed the river.[3]Iron slag from iron smelting in the surrounding area was used in building the road.[3] In theMiddle Ages it became a centre of theWealden iron industry.[citation needed] There are manymediaevaltimber buildings in the town, one of which houses theEden 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.[4]
After World War II, theLondon County Council built two modernist housing estates at Stangrove Park and Spitals Cross.[5]
Owing to its position on theRiver Eden floodplain, the centre of the town is prone to severe flooding. The worst flood occurred in 1958, before any flood defences were built, and led to enormous damage to the High Street. Ten years later in 1968, despite the Eden having been dredged to prevent the same occurrence, the town was once again flooded after heavy storms in September. Although there were no fatalities, a helicopter was needed to save a man from his flooded home. Local legend has it that he hadn't noticed the flood waters rising, having been too engrossed inThe Forsyte Saga on television.[6] More adequate flood defences have been built since then, with the local community now well prepared to deal with possible flooding. In December 2019 the town was "paralysed" when the river again burst its banks.[7]
Edenbridge has had four mills over the centuries,Haxted Mill andHonour's Mill on the River Eden,Christmas Mill on a tributary of the Eden, and awindmill to the south of the town. All four mill buildings survive, but now converted to other uses.
There are tworailway stations serving Edenbridge. The earliest, on theSouth Eastern Railway (SER) route fromRedhill toTonbridge, was opened on 26 May 1842. The station, simply namedEdenbridge, is located in Marlpit Hill. To the west of that station the route crosses what was once theLondon, Brighton and South Coast Railway main line from London toTunbridge Wells andEastbourne (viaLewes), 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. The second station, namedEdenbridge Town is about a mile South-east of this point. The line serving it is now truncated atUckfield. There is no connection here between the two routes: Edenbridge is not a junction; one existed four miles (6 km) to the west of Edenbridge Town atCrowhurst, but that junction with the Oxted to East Grinstead line no longer exists. Severe damage to the embankments of both the SER line and the East Grinstead line occurred following the excessive rains in the winter of 2019/2020 but was repaired after extensive works by end of March 2020.
All services at both stations are operated bySouthern, which manages both stations.
Edenbridge Station is served by an hourly shuttle service (half-hourly during the peak periods) betweenRedhill andTonbridge. Edenbridge Town Station is served by an hourly service (half-hourly during the peak periods) betweenLondon Bridge andUckfield. On Sundays this service terminates atOxted instead of London Bridge.
Edenbridge is twinned withMont-Saint-Aignan inFrance. The inner relief road that was built in the early 2000s to relieve traffic pressure on the old, narrow High Street is named Mont St Aignan Way. There are now no banks in the town, (just a mobile bank at the small Thursday market) a post office next to St Lawrence's RC church and a number of major retail chains.
The Edenbridge Memorial Health Centre replaced a separate minor injuries unit, the Edenbridge War Memorial Hospital (initially a cottage hospital built to care for soldiers returning from The First World War), and the GP surgery in 2023.
The Edenbridge Bonfire Society burned an effigy of former prime ministerLiz Truss and a lettuce on a bonfire onGuy Fawkes Night 2022. The 11-metre (36 ft) high effigy held a box with a copy of theGuinness Book of Records, referencing her record as the shortest-serving prime minister. The box also contained a copy of her mini-budget, a T-shirt with the slogan "I am a fighter, not a quitter", and a £115 cheque referring to the continual funding for ex-prime ministers.[8][9]
The 13th-centuryAnglicanparish church ofChurch of St Peter and St Paul is aGrade I-listed building . It has a set of windows by SirEdward Burne-Jones in the east wall.[10] The church contains examples of medievalgraffiti including ritual protection marks such as the VV symbol. ABaptist chapel on the High Street was registered for marriages in 1860.[11][12] It was the home of the Edenbridge Baptist Church, which re-combined with its 'daughter' church at Marlpit Hill in 2003 to form the Eden Church, which moved in 2013 to The Eden Centre.
Roman Catholics worship at St Lawrence's Church, registered in 1933.[13][14]
Also in the parish is the hamlet ofMarsh Green. Two places of worship are located here: St John'sUnited Reformed Church[11][15] and aKingdom Hall which serves theOxted Congregation ofJehovah's Witnesses. It was registered for marriages in 1999.[citation needed]
The Grade II-listed[16] former Ebenezer Chapel, used byIndependentCalvinists and later byStrict Baptists, stands on Edenbridge High Street. It is now a community café and meeting place.[17][18] In the Marlpit Hill area of the town, St Paulinus' Church Centre is used as apre school and a village hall.[19][20] Nearby, Marlpit Hill Baptist Church (built in the late 19th century) re-combined with its former parent (see above) to form the Eden Church and the building has been demolished to be replaced by housing.[21]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC South East andBBC London onBBC One &ITV Meridian andITV London onITV1. Television signals are received from either the Tunbridge Wells orCrystal Palace TV transmitters.[22][23]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Kent,Heart South,Gold andKMFM West Kent.
Edenbridge is served by the local newspaper, Edenbridge Chronicle.[24]
| Climate data for Bough Beech (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.1 (46.6) | 8.6 (47.5) | 11.3 (52.3) | 14.3 (57.7) | 17.4 (63.3) | 20.4 (68.7) | 22.7 (72.9) | 22.5 (72.5) | 19.5 (67.1) | 15.4 (59.7) | 11.4 (52.5) | 8.6 (47.5) | 15.1 (59.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.2 (34.2) | 1.0 (33.8) | 2.5 (36.5) | 3.9 (39.0) | 6.9 (44.4) | 9.7 (49.5) | 11.9 (53.4) | 11.6 (52.9) | 9.1 (48.4) | 6.5 (43.7) | 3.5 (38.3) | 1.6 (34.9) | 5.8 (42.4) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 78.4 (3.09) | 54.3 (2.14) | 44.7 (1.76) | 46.8 (1.84) | 50.6 (1.99) | 48.3 (1.90) | 48.5 (1.91) | 56.6 (2.23) | 52.7 (2.07) | 80.2 (3.16) | 86.0 (3.39) | 83.2 (3.28) | 730.7 (28.77) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1 mm) | 12.3 | 10.3 | 8.8 | 8.8 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 7.5 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 11.6 | 13.0 | 12.2 | 117.9 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 47.1 | 75.2 | 115.9 | 170.8 | 208.5 | 209.3 | 224.9 | 202.1 | 153.0 | 110.1 | 59.3 | 52.8 | 1,629.5 |
| Source:Met Office[25] | |||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
