Royal Tunbridge Wells and Hammerwood Park

Leaving Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall at 08.30 we will make our way to Tunbridge Wells. On arrival there will be plenty of cafes to find a coffee before we join our Blue Badge Guide to hear about the Royal connections and life in this popular town.

In the 18th century, The Wells became a favourite destination for fashionable society who needed accommodation and wanted places of entertainment such as coffee houses, gaming-rooms and an assembly room for dances and balls. The walk will take about an hour and, apart from the famous Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells is not on the level. However, the guide has indicated that she is used to dealing with groups of differing abilities.

After our walk there will be time to buy lunch before we leave at 13.30 to travel on to Hammerwood Park.

The origins of Hammerwood Park are obscure: it is unlikely that we shall ever know exactly what existed on the site of the present Grade 1 listed mansion before 1792, when architect B.H.Latrobe began work on it for wealthy merchant John Sperling.

Through the following centuries it was bought and sold as a family home, and for a couple of years after WWI, it was a school. Having bought the property in 1935, the Taylor family were the owners when the Second World War broke out. As with many large houses, Hammerwood Park was requisitioned by the Army. It became home to 200 soldiers, including Denis Compton, the cricketer. Sadly, after the war the house was turned into flats, the fabric of the building deteriorated, and it became uninhabitable.

Rock group Led Zeppelin had dreamed of a musical centre with a recording studio and living accommodation for the members of the group and their families. They bought Hammerwood at auction in 1973, but vandalism and further structural deterioration meant their plans never materialised. The house was boarded up in 1976 and offered for sale over the following years. Whilst Led Zeppelin’s plans had been criticised at the time at least their ownership removed the house from the property market and the commercial developers, paving the way for a subsequent resurrection.

Eventually, in June 1982, Hammerwood Park was advertised for sale in Country Life. Its condition had deteriorated so much that only a sketch illustrated the full page advertisement with, underneath, the words ‘In need of modernisation’!

It was bought by a young eccentric enthusiast, David Pinnegar, who set about its restoration. The house has been privileged to be awarded a number of international honorary awards for the ongoing project but there is still a considerable amount to do to the house – the derelict dining room, dry rot, leaky flat roofs – as well as the restoration of the parkland and even after so long, the clearing of uprooted trees from the 1987 hurricane.

David Pinnegar and his family believe that houses such as Hammerwood are best preserved not entirely as museums but as family homes.

Leaving APMH 08.30

Coffee at own cost

11.00 Blue Badge Guided tour of Tunbridge Wells

lunch at own cost

13.30 travel to Hammerwood Park

Please note the coach cannot drive to the house and there is a walk of 5 to10 minutes but  transport will be provided for people who find walking any distance a problem

Guided tour of Hammerwood House

Tea and cake available at own cost

Leaving Hammerwood 16.30

Cost £40

Image Credit: Zadradr -licensed under CC Attribution 3.0 Unported license