Anke: Royal Tunbridge Wells

Royal Tree Planting

To mark the Queen's Jubilee celebrations, a commemorative oak tree has been planted on the very edge of the Common. It's on the meadowy verge at the end of Church Road.

The Lord Lieutenant, Viscount De L'Isle, placed the final shovelful of dirt onto the base of the tree and another in our long line of royal trees is born.

Click to see more photos from the planting.

Town Centre Meadows

The town centre is about to get just a little bit greener. Those large grass patches that run alongside London Road are being left to nature to become seasonal wildflower meadows.

It’s looking rather short now, but let’s see this spot again at the end of summer.

This was in the news last week but getting this blog redesign up and online meant I had neglected to post it, but thanks to some lovely weather I had no excuse but to go out with camera in hand and take some photos.

These stretches of grass are usually cut short over the spring and summer months, but this year they are to be left to their own devices to develop into wonderful colourful wildflower habitats. It is being called “An Experiment in Biodiversity.”

The beauty will be in the surprise, just what wildflowers will pop up? What insects, butterflies and moths will make their homes here? If anything it should at least attract some interesting bugs for Ian Beavis to kidnap and identify.

As someone who lives very near to these patches I am very much looking forward to seeing their progress, although I think my hayfever might have something else to say about it.

The grass will be still be cut in places such as edges, pathways, and so called “badger lines”, these are the lines that people naturally take when making their way across the areas. There is talk of cutting other specific spaces for picnicking and pursuits too.

Another great piece of flora and fauna news is that to coincide with the upcoming Royal visit there will be another in our long line of Royal tree plantings, this time on the patch between Church Road and York Road. Check back later in the week ahead for some photographs of that.

One thing the Commons Conservators want your help with is feedback. What do you think of the idea? Why not leave me a comment.

Frog Chorus

I was rather taken by a video posted to the website of the Friends of Grosvenor and Hilbert Park of frogs frolicking in the pond there. So, armed with my trusty camera I decided to see if we had any on our local patch, The Common. I wasn't disappointed.

Mrs Anke and I decided our best bet was Fir Tree Pond. This is a real safe haven for amphibians of all kinds. The commotion that greeted us was nothing short of amazing, there were hundreds of little green snouts poking up all over the surface and bubbles rising from every spare space.

The carpet of frog spawn was covered in frogs in amplexus, or mating to you and me, I have to admit that I bumped into the Warden, Steve Budden, and he taught me that word. They were writhing all over the spawn and depositing more clumps of new eggs by the minute. The most amazing and quite wonderous thing of all was the noise that this was all generating. Even above the traffic noise of Major Yorks Road you could hear the incesssant growling of frogs. There's only one way to experience it, apart from going there yourself which I highly recommend you do very soon, and that is to watch the short HD video I took (I highly recommend setting it to HD, turning up the volume and watching it full screen).

I've also put up some more photos of the frogs of Fir Tree Pond in a gallery so click to go see them after you've seen the video.

Tunbridge Toys

Today, the 18th of July, is, or would've been, the 200th birthday of legendary Vanity Fair author William Makepeace Thackeray.

Thackeray's illustrated view from Rock Villa.

Born in Calcutta, India in 1811, William moved back to England in 1817. During the summer of 1823 he stayed with his mother and step-father in a small cottage on Mount Ephraim which they had rented for the season. Many years later he revisited the scenes of this childhood holiday and together with his two daughters spent the months of August and September, 1860, at Rock Villa on London Road. Rock Villa now houses a famous local restaurant named in his honour.

William Makepeace Thackeray pictured during the Tunbridge Toys period.

Whilst here, Thackeray was the editor of the Cornhill Magazine, to which he contributed a series of essays called the Roundabout Papers. His stay at Rock Villa inspired him to pen the delightful “Tunbridge Toys” essay. Thackeray had some talent as an artist and illustrated many of his works, at the beginning of “Tunbridge Toys” there is a fabulous engraving of the inspiring view of Common and Belleville Cottage as seen from Rock Villa, it is pictured at the start of this post.

Tunbridge Toys really is a truly wonderful piece of work and really beautifully describes the view of the Common. It's enough to bring a lump to your throat.

An extract from Thackeray's Tunbridge Toys describes the view perfectly.

To celebrate Thackeray’s birthday download your free copy of Tunbridge Toys.

The Forum

This year sees the 18th birthday of The Forum. Since its conversion into a live music venue in 1993, the green room at the back of this former public restroom has seen many bands come and go, including obscure upstarts you've never heard of such as Coldplay, Green Day, Muse, Oasis, Radiohead and the Stereophonics. In the past eighteen years it has become one of the best places to see live bands for many miles around. A far cry from its former usage.

Inside The Forum, the view from the stage.

The Borough Council constructed the building in 1939 to provide "rest rooms and general conveniences" for locals and visitors enjoying the Common. Some of these original facilities can still be seen inside. Part of the building was used to house Council agricultural equipment used in looking after the Commons.

The current structure is one in a long line of buildings that have stood in this spot over the years, there was a blacksmith's forge here in the mid to early 1700s, a coach builders' workshop, and a cottage called Fonthill House which dated back to 1833. The building in its present state also housed a brass-rubbing centre before Jason Dormon had the place converted into a music venue.

The site the building now occupies is said to be the location of the cottage occupied by Mrs Humphreys, the lady who provided Lord North with a cup to drink from the Chalybeate Spring when he discovered it in 1606. So, next time you're at a gig and using the facilities, you might not be alone.

The Green Room backstage.

If you enjoyed these glimpses of what the Forum is like inside then why not visit our Tunbridge Wells Project for many more interior shots.