The Chalybeate Spring

Visited on Weekend More
Jan 10th, 2023

Mar 26th, 2022

It was closed as we passed by on a Sunday in October but looks like it contributed heavily in building Royal Tunbridge Wells town and a nice addition to the atmosphere of The Pantiles.
Nov 4th, 2021

Feb 27th, 2020

Without the Chalybeate Spring, Royal Tunbridge Wells would not exist. The natural Spring was discovered by a well-travelled English nobleman, a visitor on his way back up to the capital of England. For more than 400 years visitors from afar have revelled in the accessibility and beauty of the area and stayed in theTunbridge Wellsregion. Since 1606, in fact tourists have come to see and be seen in fashionableTunbridge Wells(it was not Royal until over 300 years later), but above all to 'take the waters'. The word chalybeate (pronounced ka-lee-bee-at) means iron-rich, and the iron taste is evident in the water. It dyes everything orange too, notice the staining round the walls of the bowls at the Spring. At the height of its popularity in the eighteenth century, the Spring water was reputed to cure all sorts of ills from infertility and hangovers to obesity and 'a moist brain'. History Of The Spring The Chalybeate Spring was a fortuitous find by the young nobleman, Dudley Lord North - 3rd Baron North, who noticed the reddish brown waters of the Spring foaming slightly from the ground. Lord North had spent several days at the Abergavenny Estate at nearby Eridge recuperating and was returning on horseback to London. Feeling a bit the worse for wear from heavy drinking and merrymaking, Lord North drank the water to quench his thirst. Feeling much rejuvenated from drinking the cool iron-rich spring water, he declared it to be health-giving to all his friends and acquaintances. The news of the Spring and its exceptional properties circulated and noble visitors from London and elsewhere flocked to the resulting hamlet springing up alongside the natural spa. Since it wasnt far from Tonbridge (originally spelled Tunbridge), already a town, it later became known as Tunbridge Wells. The Wells In the eighteenth century, the ChalybeateSpring became a vital daily custom for any honourable lady or gentleman visiting 'The Wells'. Each day began with a tumbler of the spring water, followed by a promenade on The Walks, now known asThe Pantiles, or a sojourn to the coffee house to hear the most up-to-date gossip, then off to church at the nearby Chapel of Ease, King Charles the Martyr. After luncheon, time was whiled away with more promenading, wagering or a friendly game of bowls on one of the nearby greens. The evening finished with further betting, dancing, a musical soiree or ostentatious ball.
Nov 4th, 2019