Tonbridge and Malling

Estimated Population

115,700 based on ONS survey to mid 2007

Overview

Tonbridge and Malling district is mainly agricultural - orchards, and livestock - although the proximity of the railways and the motorway means that there is a good deal of commuting from some of the more built-up villages. The new settlement of Kings Hill is also a magnet for such commuting, since it provides a good deal of employment opportunity.

A remnant of the once flourishing hop-growing industry is provided by a tourist attraction at Beltring: once the Whitbread Hop Farm, it puts on frequent weekend exhibitions and shows of varying kinds. Here twenty-five of the finest examples of Victorian oast houses, once used for preparing hops for brewing.

At East Malling is a Research Station exploring the development and dissemination of results directly affecting horticultural crops.

Leisure and Retail

The main town of Tonbridge has been a market town since the Middle Ages when the Normans chose the site to build a splendid mote and bailey castle which dominates the town to this day and is surrounded by 14 acres of lawns and gardens alongside the River Medway.

The long High Street, at one end of which is situated the famous Tonbridge School, offers an interesting variety of architecture as well as a good array of shops and restaurants.

West Malling and Kings Hill also continue to thrive, as independent retailers - many of them local - set up shop to attract the interest of a selective audience.