Monday, 10 March 2025

Historic Spring & Yew Tree in Tunbridge Wells

 

Tunbridge Wells, in Kent, is famous for it chalybeate springs, the water from which was fashionably drunk for health-giving properties in the 18th and 19th centuries. The best known spring can still be seen at the Pantiles in the town, but another can be found at nearby Dunorlan Park. 

I went to the park for a picnic and a walk in the warm, sunny weather last Saturday. While I was there I video'd the iron-rich water bubbling to the surface. An ancient yew tree stands on the grassy bank above it, which you can see in the photo below. 

Water from the spring feeds a small stream that feeds a lake in the centre of the park. Dunorlan was once the private grounds of a Victorian mansion. The building is no longer there. The grounds are now a public park, but are still laid out much as they were in the 19th century.  If you want to find out more about the park, here's a link: https://tunbridgewells.gov.uk/community-and-leisure/parks-and-play-areas/dunorlan-park

However, the spring was there long before the Victorian mansion. From what I can gather it was once called Burnt House spring. Descriptive Sketches of Tunbridge Wells and the Calverley Estate, published in 1816, described it as a "romantic spot" and also mentioned the wide brick basin that still exists. 


Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/07/pagan-eye-sacred-spring-on-sussex-beach.html

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