Tonbridge (GB)
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Tonbridge is a historic market town in the English county of Kent. It is located upon the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Royal Tunbridge Wells.
Tonbridge stands on spur of higher land where the marshy River Medway could be more easily forded. Ancient trackways converged at this point. There is no record of any bridge before 1191. For much of its existence, the town remained to the north of the river, since the land to the south was subject to extensive seasonal flooding. One part of the town is called 'Dryhill'. Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare founded the Priory of St Mary Magdalene in 1124.
A castle was built here in the 11th century by Richard Fitz Gilbert, son of the murdered guardian of William the Conqueror in his infancy. Richard was responsible for governing England in William I's many absences.
The castle was finally taken by Henry VIII when its owner, the Duke of Buckingham, was executed for treason.
Until 1870, the town's name was spelt Tunbridge, as shown on old maps including the 1871 Ordnance Survey map and contemporary issues of the Bradshaw railway guide. In 1870, this was changed to Tonbridge by the GPO due to confusion with nearby Tunbridge Wells, despite Tonbridge being a much older settlement. Tunbridge Wells has always maintained the same spelling. Tonbridge was allocated the GPO 818 Numeral
Postmark Examples
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Meter cancels
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Tonbridge Station Office
Due to the arrival of the railway, the office expanded and in the later part of the 19th C. it was given its own TONBRIDGE / STATION OFFICE cancel
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